A Dragon's Song
by Archangela
Summary: A collection of D/H songfics, each with different plots and different songs. Mostly angst, but with some fluffiness mixed in as well. R&r!
1. Incomplete

Summary: Draco sits by the perfumed fire and thinks of the agony he endured for seven long years... loving her, and never being able to have her. It's an insight into a broken Slytherin's heart... because when the clock strikes midnight, and the jasmine scent rises from the flames, that's when the pain begins to throb.

Disclaimer: All the characters belong to J.K Rowling, but everything you don't recognize, including the pairing… is MINE! ahem!

The very sentimental song I am using, which is "Incomplete" belongs to Sisqo.

Author's Note: This is a pretty sentimental songfic, written while I was on a very strong sugar rush. (Too many whipped cream and chocolate beehives, I have to admit.) 

This is dedicated to Raf, who pretty much made my first few years with him living hell... then made up for all the torment in just a few days. See ya in Australia, Paola!

****

A Dragon's Song

Midnight in the silent Slytherin common room found a lone figure on an armchair, staring moodily at the crackling flames. The shadows flickered along the cold, stone walls, yet he just slumped there, surrounded by silky green velvet. The suits of armor stood silent witness as he gripped the arms of the chair tightly, fighting the wave of emotions which always welled up in him… everytime *she* came into his mind.

Draco Malfoy tossed a handful of incense at the green fire, lay back in his chair, and tried very hard to forget her. 

Her… Hermione Granger.

Her… A Gryffindor. A know-it-all. Potter and Weasley's best friend, for hell's sake. A Mudblood.

In Draco Malfoy's mind, this should all have added up to another mortal enemy. 

Yet, in his heart, it equaled Hermione. That one, beautiful, unattainable girl.

__

*Bright lights, fancy restaurants

Everything in this world that a man could want*

Yes, Draco Malfoy was rich. He was literally rolling in Galleons. He had an expansive home, and he was heir to one of the greatest fortunes in the wizarding world. He had top-of-the-line brooms, he could afford the whole Honeydukes… 

__

*Got a bank account bigger than the law should allow*

However, there was only one individual he wanted… no, *loved.*

And she just happened to be the only one he could never reach.

Various girls would send him owls every morning, pleading for a date. They followed him around school, Mudbloods and pure-bloods alike. Pansy was becoming incredibly smug, and incredibly unbearable. 

"But she was pretty, I must admit." thought Draco. "I wouldn't have bothered talking to her if she looked like Millicent Bulstrode." He smiled faintly, and sank back into his stupor.

__

*Pretty faces from the covers of the magazines

From their covers to my covers wanna lay with me*

"Yeah, I wouldn't even have looked twice in her direction." Draco breathed in the balmy jasmine perfume surrounding him, thinking of how he had made his mark in the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

It was already his trademark. Snooty, arrogant, sharp-tongued… just plain mean. 

And he enjoyed it. He loved every moment of it. The pained scowl on Potter's face. The way Weasley's face would blend into that hideous carroty hair of his… 

But whenever he insulted Hermione… 

The hurt expression he sees on her face was almost enough for him to back down from his throne in the Slytherin house. He would have gladly given all this up… for one chance to hold her, to show her that Draco Malfoy wasn't all bad. That Draco Malfoy wasn't evil. 

That Draco Malfoy loved her.

That day she had slapped him… four long years ago, and it still hurt. 

Definitely not on his cheek… no, that mark faded long, long ago.

But the wound in his heart would stay there forever, until he came out of his shell, and confessed his true feelings.

__

*Fame and fortune still can't find

Just a grown man running out of time*

Draco leaned forward and covered his face in his slim fingers, shutting out the view of the darkened common room. And trying to shut out the pain.

__

*Even though it seems I have everything

I don't wanna be a lonely fool 

All of the women, all the expensive cars

And all of the money

Don't amount to you*

She completed him. If only she gave him a chance. 

"I've seen the way she acts around Potter and Weasley. She's so… *happy.*. That's something I would never be… never. Until she loves me… the way I'm loving her."

One lonely Slytherin seventh-year wrapped his arms around himself, trying to fill himself with the kind of warmth that the perfumed, sparkling fire could, in no way, give him.

He needed that kind of emotion you perceive when the one you love gives you a special smile, holds you close, or simply murmurs a kind word into your ear.

But he knew that the only woman he loved will never be able to do any of those. She was too far away… encased in silver crystal, and he, the powerful, wealthy son of Lucius Malfoy, could never reach her…

He had the rest of his life, though. A terrifically wealthy father, a mother who spoils him like hell, a vast inheritance, a reputation (albeit not a very good one), pretty girls and power… 

What did he need that Mudblood for? She was nothing to him… but…

She was everything at the same time. 

__

*I can make believe I have everything

Though I can't pretend that I don't see

That without you girl,

My life is incomplete.*

Hermione could be the missing piece in the puzzle that was his mangled life.

She could be his laughter, his enchantment… his love.

"How can Potter be so blind?" Draco hissed, clenching his fists. "The most magnificent woman in the entire world has been right in front of his scarred, bespectacled face since the beginning of school… and all he thinks of her is a friend?!"

__

*Your perfume, your sexy lingerie

I remember everything like it was yesterday*

Everything. The way she smiled, her cleverness… the way she looked every Yule Ball…

"Amazing how blind Potter is. His Muggles must have beaten him so blindly he got irreversible myopia. *How* could he *not* see Hermione Granger? In all her beauty?" 

he whispered bitterly, turning his face to the dying fire. 

"How could he not realize…

… that she had loved him since the first day of school? …"

__

*A Thursday, you told me you had fallen in love

I wasn't sure that I was.*

Draco fell back into the velvety chair, breathing hard with repressed anger and love. 

"How could he?

How could *she?*"

Hermione never told Draco she loved Harry. She wouldn't even go near him at all. 

But Draco wasn't blind. 

He saw the way she laughed at his jokes, the way she cheered for Harry at Quidditch…

"Hermione doesn't even like Quidditch that much. She only comes to watch Potter play."

He ran his hand through his silky hair, trying to brush away the thoughts of Hermione and Harry.

__

*It's been a year,

Winter, summer, spring and fall…

And being without you just ain't living

Just ain't nothing at all

If I could travel back in time, 

I'd relive the days that you were mine*

It hadn't been a year, to tell the truth.

It had been *seven* years.

Seven anguished years, of passing her in the corridors, listening to her perpetually-correct answers in class… and knowing that he could never have her.

She was never his.

But if she was, by now, she would have utterly understood the meaning of true love.

Draco Malfoy wasn't heartless. In fact, totally capable of falling in love. 

In fact, he *was* completely in love. 

Completely, madly, desperately in love with Harry Potter's best friend. 

Who was the only student in the whole female body in the entire Hogwarts who was incapable of loving him back.

__

*Even though it seems I have everything

I don't wanna be a lonely fool 

All of the women, all the expensive cars

And all of the money

Don't amount to you*

*I can make believe I have everything

Though I can't pretend that I don't see

That without you girl,

My life is incomplete.*

"Why did I have to fall for her? 

So many girls think I'm a god, and the center of their universe… and I just had to fall in love with the one who thinks I'm as insignificant as a dead flobberworm." 

Draco watched the fire burn down, it's enchanted green flames cast in his stormy, troubled eyes.

__

*I just can't help loving you

But I loved you much too late.*

"Much, *much* too late." he repeated tonelessly to himself, glaring at the glowing embers in the hearth. "Too late, I guess."

He propped his chin up on his hand, murmuring useless words of comfort to himself.

__

*I'll give anything

And everything

Just to hear you say

That you'll stay…*

Draco twirled his wand around in his hand, wondering if he should light the fire once more. 

He raised his left arm, and thought against it instead. 

"She could have been mine. I wouldn't give a damn what house she was in… as long as she loved me. And only me." he gripped his wand tensely, sending out silver sparks, which shone intensely in the darkening room.

"And what am I? A poor, little rich boy. Surrounded in wealth and material possessions. Everything I want."

__

*Even though it seems I have everything*

"And *almost* everything I need." Draco's voice was now barely a whisper.

"Almost."

His wand fell to the floor.

"I still don't have love."

__

I don't wanna be a lonely fool 

All of the women, all the expensive cars

And all of the money

Don't amount to you*

*I can make believe I have everything

Though I can't pretend that I don't see

That without you girl,

My life is incomplete.*

So he sat in the Slytherin common room, encircled by his wealth and power…

And he waited for the fire to die out.


	2. Hero

__

AN: More angst and unfulfilled fluff! I decided to add this as another chapter to A Dragon's Song _instead of uploading it as a whole new thing. A little note: About_ Fata Viam Invenient, _I'm working on it as hard as I can, but I've got a serious case of writer's block on that thing, so I'm writing all these no-plot songfics to loosen up the brain cells. So, hang in there, and I'll probably have the fourth chapter up by the end of March. (Yes, I know it's long, but this is ONE BIG BAD case of writer's block.)_

Dedicated to my late pet bunny, Draco Malfoy Orlando Miguel_, may she rest in peace. _

My darling, dearest, dead.

Disclaimer: First of all, that address **darling, dearest, dead** belongs to Lemony Snicket, the author of the wonderful Series of Unfortunate Events. _The characters in the fic up ahead, however, belong to the fabulous J.K. Rowling. The song, "Hero" is Enrique Iglesias's. (Did you know his mother is Filipina? And his grandmother was from Zamboanga!) _trivia!

****

~*~* The Whereabouts of The Stars *~*~

__

Would you dance if I asked you to dance?

The pain was welling up inside him again, as it always did whenever he saw her. Tonight, however, the suffering seemed to be at its peak, for even though he was surrounded by laughing, chattering, flirting people, he was completely and utterly alone.

Draco Malfoy sat at the Slytherin table, sipping the light wine, feigning attention to Pansy Parkinson's chattering, and watching a certain dark-haired young woman from across the Great Hall.

Hermione Granger sat there, at the opposite table, talking quietly with her date for the last Yule Ball of their year… Harry Potter. Hermione Granger sat there, beautiful, inscrutable, unreachable.

__

Would you run and never look back?

_Yes, she would. Or worse. She would turn her back. Laugh at me. Glare at me. Ignore me._

No one could guess that the well-dressed, suave, fresh Draco Malfoy was in agony. But he was. Oh, was he ever. 

_There is absolutely nothing else I want more in the world than one dance with her. Just one dance. But she would never care… Never._

Would you cry if you saw me crying?

She would never. To her, Draco Malfoy was a pest, an outrageously proud and arrogant Slytherin who did nothing more than irk her. 

But to Draco Malfoy, Hermione Granger was the world and so much more…

__

And would you save my soul tonight?

_Just one dance. One chance to be near you. One chance to breathe your scent. One chance to touch your skin. _Anyone watching Draco closely could easily see the distracted way he kept looking around. The way his eyes always followed one girl, as she stepped onto the dance floor, in the arms of another.

__

Would you tremble if I touched your lips?

To hold her close instead of pushing her away, to speak to her and make her laugh, instead of insulting her and making her cry. To smile instead of sneering. To love instead of hiding it all.

__

Would you laugh?

Oh, please tell me this…

He watched her smile at something Potter whispered in her ear, the sparkle in her eye, the way her lips curved everytime Potter grinned at her. They were perfect together, in ever single way. 

He had to dance with her. Just once. One dance, and he could be happy forevermore. But there was always that risk.

__

Now, would you die for the one you love?

_Yes, she would. She would die for Potter. _Draco clenched his teeth and tried to listen to whatever Pansy was prattling away about. 

__

And would you save my soul tonight?

But his eyes, his mind, and his heart always wandered away to that beautiful girl in blue.

__

I can be your hero, baby

I can kiss away the pain

_If she only gave me a chance… I could show her what true love is all about… much, much better than Potter ever could. _Draco gripped the slender wineglass, not caring if it broke and wounded him, because as he was, he was already hurt.

__

I will stand by you forever…

Draco watched Hermione twirl around, and fall back gracefully into Weasley's arms. He knew they fought, the three of them. Countless times, even during their first year, when Hermione ran crying into the girl's bathroom. _I saw that… I stayed behind to watch her, and I saw those two run in, I heard the crashes… I brought the Professors and asked them not to tell Potter that I was the one who… _

Draco knew that if she ever learned how to accept him, she would never let go. _I'll show her everything… I'll show her that I'll never leave her, no matter what. _

You can take my breath away…

I could never leave her… She's the only one who can do this to me. Draco caught a snippet of Pansy's one-sided conversation. "And then she was, you know, telling me-" Up and down the table, there were Slytherin girls. Not all of them were ugly, there were pretty ones, beautiful in a dark, mysterious way… but Hermione as everything they weren't, and she could do everything the couldn't. 

_Make my knees weak, my breath catch in my throat, stop my heart from beating, and then make it race like hell…_

Would you swear that you'll always be mine?

_She'll never love me, and I'll never be content with this. _Draco almost smiled when he saw her laugh, but he stopped himself when he realized it was Potter's joke she was laughing at. _This pure obsession, perfect wanting… if only she was mine… I would give her my world, and all that was to give._

Or would you lie?

Pansy suddenly grabbed Draco's slender hands, jolting him out of his disturbed thoughts. "Draco, darling, would you?" Draco, realizing he hadn't heard a thing she was saying, blinked coolly down at her. "What, Pansy?" She pouted for a moment, then batted her eyelashes at him. "Darling, do you agree with our parents' decision to have us marry at our legal age?" Draco, without missing a beat, replied "Of course. My heart is yours, and yours is mine." As Pansy squealed in delight, Draco looked away, making a mental note to argue with his father the minute he stepped in the grand doors of Malfoy Manor. 

__

Am I in too deep?

_Pure, beautiful infatuation. I could live like this, yearning for something far beyond my reach… _The music was slowing down, and there was a mild, polite scramble to get partners. Pansy herself yanked Draco to his feet, and to save face, he stood up and took her in his arms. _I'm going half-crazy with this. _Draco thought, as Hermione passed him, with Finnegan as her partner. _I'm going mad… and I like it._

Have I lost my mind?

"What would your father say?! If he only knew!" Pansy's shrill voice again. Draco looked down at her, cold fear flooding his body. "About what?" _Does she know? She _does _come from a line of Seers… _

"What would your father say…" Pansy repeated. "When he hears about your agreement?" Draco, relief making him smile involuntarily, answered back. "He'd be delighted. I am, so I'm sure he will be." 

_Come to think of it, what _would _Father say? How would he punish me for falling in love with… a Mudblood? _Draco shuddered, and Pansy, thinking it was the cold, pulled him closer. Draco, distracted, hardly noticed. _I must be crazy, for falling in love with her. I'm risking everything… even my life. _But as the dream took over him again, and he glimpsed Hermione through the crowd, he realized… 

I don't care…

You're here tonight

I can be your hero, baby

Draco sighed a discreet sigh of relief when Pansy let him go and went off to sit with her clique of Slytherin girls. Draco began that conversation, a conversation he would never get to say on an ordinary night, or as the ordinary Draco.

__

I can kiss away the pain…

"Hermione? Yes, I called you Hermione. Why are you surprised? I've always called you Hermione… well, at least to myself. Do you like it? I would call you Hermione, but, there are certain issues…" Draco rehearsed it over and over again in his mind, as if he would ever get the chance to speak those carefully planned words to her.

__

I will stand by you forever

"Yes, Hermione…" Draco suddenly looked up at the ceiling. The stars were glimmering bright, and he could just pick out one familiar constellation… _Draco. _He squinted ever so slightly, looking for the right sign… _Where is Venus? _

As he saw that shimmering planet, glowing bright and steady against a velvet black sky, an impulsive emotion swept over him, and he found himself on his feet, walking towards the Gryffindor table, where that unreachable young woman sat with her friends… his enemies. A small, determined smile formed on his handsome face. _Nothing to lose… I never had any faith in stars, but tonight? Tonight isn't just any night._

You can take my breath away.

He came closer, and the very sight of her made his heart soar. Talking with her friends, she stood out like a rose in a thornbush. She made him weak, vulnerable, she could bring out sides of him that even he himself never knew existed. Vaguely, Draco wondered _Where am I going_? Before he knew it, he was standing in front of her, and they (Potter, Weasley… and Hermione_ were looking up at him with different expression. Potter was slightly unfriendly, Weasley was downright hostile-looking, while Hermione looked merely disinterested in whatever Draco had to say. 

But what Draco says, Hermione listens.

Even if he was avoiding her gaze, and barely smirking at Harry and Ron, she listened to whatever the Slytherin had to say.

__

Oh, I just want to hold you

"Granger, do you dance?"

__

I just want to hold you

"Malfoy, was that your usual way of asking a girl to dance?"

"Yes."

"Fine with me."

Draco was silent, expecting more from Hermione.

Potter glared, and Weasley seemed on the edge of spontaneous combustion. Draco waited for Hermione's answered and avoided their gazes. 

Wonder of wonders, she stood up, and calmly held out her hand to him. Astounded for only a second, Draco took it, concealing all signs of surprise, affection and rapture. 

She allowed him to escort her to the dance floor, and to the soft notes of a tender song, put her arms around him, permitting him to put his around her.

__

Am I in too deep?

With his arms finally around the most beautiful girl on earth, taking in the sweet scent of her, his face a mask of bored emotion, Draco's mind was racing, and so was his heart.

He could feel the glares, stares and glances around him, hear the snickering, gasps and whispers, but he could also feel Hermione's heartbeat against his own, and he could hear he soft breathing, and that was all he needed to continue stepping to the song of the violin.

__

Have I lost my mind?

He probably had. What was he thinking? Actually going up to this pathetic Mudblood and _asking _her to dance? Even to bother _talking _to her? What was he thinking? He was a Malfoy!

And she… was the girl of his dreams. 

__

I don't care

You're here tonight…

No, he didn't care anymore. About his father, his pride, the snickers among the crowd; all he cared about was that one girl in his arms, saying nothing, unfathomable, quietly allowing the young man who had tormented her for seven straight years take her in his arms and dance with her.

__

I can be your hero, baby

"Why do you put up with them?" Draco suddenly spoke, making Hermione look up at him in surprise. "Who?"

"Potter and Weasley."

"Because they're my friends."

"I see."

Silence.

"You must think I've gone mad."

Hermione blinked up at Draco, who, after speaking those words, was looking away from her.

"Why is that?"

"I asked you to dance, didn't I?"

"So?"

"And you agreed."

"And?"

"You aren't surprised?"

"I am. But not as much as if you asked me back in… say, third year."

"I was a… as your friend Weasley puts it, a slimy git."

"Yes, you were."

"Is that in the past tense?"

"Yes."

__

I can kiss away the pain

"Hermione, do you ever hurt?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Do you?"

"I guess so."

"Do Potter and Weasley help you?"

"Yes."

"Do you think I can help you, too?"

"Are you asking permission?"

"What do you think?"

"Wow, Draco, you're quite the conversationalist, aren't you?"

"What do you think?"

Hermione laughed. "You can help me, Draco."

He smiled. "I can?"

"Oh, yes. Do you want to?"

"Of course."

__

I will stand by you forever

"Hermione…"

"Mm?"

"What do you think of me?"

"You…"

Hermione looked up at the enchanted ceiling, at the beautiful sky filled with stars. _Constellation Draco seems to be in rather nice proximity to Venus… _

"Draco, you seem to be a nice person."

"Really?"

"Yes."

__

You can take my breath away

"And you, Hermione Granger…"

"What about me?"

"You're beautiful."

"…"

"Absolutely beautiful."

"Draco…"

__

I can be your hero

"Hermione?"

"Draco."

"Will you?"

__

I can kiss away the pain

"Will I? What?"

"Will you please accept me?"

__

I will stand by you forever

Draco was looking away, avoiding her eyes, the ones that seemed to pierce his soul and make his heart stop beating.

"Accept you?"

"Please. Simply… take me for what I am."

"For what you are?"

Hermione gently touched Draco's cheek, bringing him to face her. "Draco…" she whispered, sending shivers down Draco's spine, and making his legs weak. "Draco, tell me, what are you?"

"I am a Slytherin.

I am a Malfoy.

I am arrogant.

I am proud.

I am mean.

I am hurtful.

I am hurt.

I despise your friends.

I am friends with your enemies.

I see no reason why you should take me for who I am.

I despise myself…

but…

I love you."

__

You can take my breath away

He stopped, breathing unevenly, and looking away from her. Hermione was silent, thinking of the sober confession he had just made. 

"Tell me, Draco. Was everything you said true?"

"Yes. Everything."

__

You can take my breath away

"I accept you, Draco… I always have."

__

I can be your hero


	3. Cry

__

A/N: Ah, another sentimental, fluff-angst filled songfic from me! I'm using "Cry", this incredibly sentimental song by Mandy Moore that I fell in love with in our seminar in Caliraya. Ah…

Dedicated to Raf, to whom I owe all fluff and angst in my soul. I never saw you cry, but if I ever did, I'll never forget…

Disclaimer: The characters belong to J.K. Rowling, but the angst-ridden plot and pairing? Mine, all mine!

The song "Cry" belongs to Mandy Moore.

****

~*~ Cry ~*~

~*~ It is a strange thing to watch someone you love crying, it is bittersweet and painful at the same time. It is even more so, if you cannot approach them, and give them words of comfort… simply because he is who he is, and you are what you are ~*~

****

*I'll always remember*

Hermione Granger smiled and lifted her face to the disappearing sunlight. She needed time alone, to think, to write, to contemplate. It was a beautiful day, the edge of the fiery sun touching the lake, and a cool breeze rustling the grass, bringing about the scent of autumn. Hermione sat down on the soft grass, dipping her quill in the ink bottle beside her, touching it to the parchment, and preparing to write out her latest diary entry, by the dying light of the sun.

__

*It was late afternoon*

She suddenly paused in the middle of a sentence, distracted by a presence. Someone was there, in her spot by the lake… she was not alone.

__

*It lasted forever*

She dropped her quill onto the ground and stood up, frowning, with her parchment tucked under her arm. "Now, who could that be?" She walked to the edge of the bushes shielding her from view and pushed them aside. When she blinked and saw who it was, she gasped, her chocolate eyes widening in astonishment. 

__

*You were all by yourself*

Draco Malfoy. Hermione frowned again. _What's he doing here?!_ she wondered irritably. The sun was setting, throwing dark shadows past her, and she just couldn't help stepping out to see him. 

__

*Staring up at a dark gray sky*

She stepped out of the bushes, curious to see what he was doing there, all alone… but then, whether it was a twist of fate, or she was simply careless, she stepped on a twig. 

And maybe it was in her destiny, that Draco Malfoy would whirl around, and stare at her, revealing to that insignificant Mudblood all his deepest secrets.

__

*I was changed*

Hermione stared right back up at Draco, who was standing right before her, every muscle in his body tense, his eyes curiously bright. "Malfoy?" She whispered. But he didn't answer. 

He continued to watch her, eyes shining, and a strange expression on his face, an expression that reached into Hermione's soul and clutched at her heart.

__

*In places no one will find*

"Is- is something wrong?" Hermione, risking it all, took one tentative step forward. Suddenly, Draco jerked away from her, as if startled awake. "Granger…" he whispered, in a voice hoarse and strange. "Go. Now."

Hermione turned as if to leave, but something stopped her, something she never expected to see… especially from this particular young man.

__

*All your feelings so deep inside*

"Malfoy-" Hermione began, but when Draco refused to face her again, she swallowed and tried again. "Draco…" She heard him make an odd choking sound, then he turned to her, unbelieving she dared to call him by his first name. "Draco, something's wrong." She shook her head, turning back into the old, bossy Hermione. "And I'm not leaving you until it gets solved, some way or another."

__

*It was then that I realized that forever was in your eyes*

"You can't help me, Granger. No one I know can." Draco began to speak, still in that choked voice, his face turned away from Hermione, toward the darkening sky. "You can't give me what I need."

Hermione sighed. "Stop the acting, Draco. Just tell me, what is it?" She walked closer to him, the bright red autumn leaves crackling under her feet. "What is-"

She broke off, too surprised to say anything more. What could stop such an outspoken witch such as Hermione Granger? 

Simple. One tear. From the eyes of the one you would never expect to cry.

__

*The moment I saw you cry*

Hermione fell apart. There was no other way to put it, because how else would you describe the complete deterioration of one's confidence and composure? She fell apart, at the sight of that one crystal tear, in the silver eyes of the last person in Hogwarts you would ever expect to cry.

__

*It was late in September*

Hermione shivered as the wind blowing off the lake grew colder, as the sun's warmth diminished, as the hour grew late. "Draco… it's okay, don't…" She swallowed, looking for the right word, but failing miserably. "Please, don't… cry." Draco was silent, watching the lake ripple in the chilly September wind, watching the scarlet and yellow foliage flutter away from him, watching the autumn beauty through a haze of unfallen tears.

__

*And I've seen you before*

"Please tell me what's wrong… I won't tell Harry or Ron. I'm just…" Hermione looked into the distance, where the sky was dimming. "I'm just _worried _about you." 

Inwardly, Hermione cringed. _What are you telling him? This is Draco Malfoy! The one who infuriated you all throughout your school years, the one whose dearest ambition is to destroy you and all of your kind! _

*You were always the cold one*

But somehow, Hermione Granger could not link that heartless, hostile, sneering son of Lucius Malfoy to the pale, somewhat pathetic and pitiful young man standing before her at that very moment, beside the lake, watching the sun go down. Though they were in silence, he wasn't pushing her away, or completely ignoring her, for every now and then, he'd turn and glance at her, through eyes filled with pain.

And that was what made Hermione stay by his side.

__

*But I was never that sure*

Hermione gulped and looked back at Draco, who was now looking up at the dark sky, waiting for the stars to rise. "Draco, it's getting late. Maybe… we should go back in. Is there anything you want?"

At those words, Draco turned to her, smiling weakly. "Oh yes, Granger. I want a lot of things. I want perfect grades, my own Quidditch team, possibly that nice new set of black and silver robes on Diagon Alley…" he coughed and looked away. 

Hermione raised an eyebrow, completely unaware that Draco's next few words would probably break her heart. "And what else?"

__

*You were all by yourself*

Draco bowed his head, avoiding her gaze. "I have absolutely no idea why I'm telling you this Granger. You're beyond doubt the last person on earth I'd ever talk to… well, besides Potter, I guess." He shrugged. "I can't explain this… why I'm here right now, why I'm… crying. Or why I'm even talking to you in the first place."

__

*Staring up at the dark grey sky*

Then he looked up at her, clear silver eyes locking with puzzled brown. "I can't really explain." He repeated, holding her gaze fast.

"But then, I guess you just can't explain love."

__

*I was changed*

Hermione stepped back, stunned. "Wh- what?!" Draco sat down on the grass, twisting a buttercup around on its pale green stem. "See? You just can't accept it, either." 

Hermione's thoughts were whirling. _Maybe he's in love with another girl… yes, Parvati, most likely… and he needs my help. Oh, I see…_

She looked down at the Slytherin seventh-year sitting at her feet. "Oh, I see. Well, Draco, who's the girl?" 

Draco stared up at her in disbelief. "Sometimes, Granger, I wonder, how you can have so much intelligence, but so little sense."

__

*In places no one can find*

Hermione bristled. "Really now?! Well, Mr. I-Know-Everything, who is she?" 

Draco closed his eyes. 

"You. Hermione Granger."

__

*All your feelings so deep inside*

And at that moment, the old Draco, which had shone through for such a brief instant, flickered and disappeared, along with the last rays of the sun over the lake. Along with it, evaporated Hermione's control.

"Draco, please! Don't lie to me! You don't… love me. It wouldn't be true." Hermione was suddenly muddled, trying to comprehend that the same boy who had made her life a living hell was now offering to make up for it all. As she knelt beside Draco on the grass, Draco could see that her eyes were pleading. He faced her, eyes shining bright. "It's true. I knew you wouldn't believe me, and I knew you couldn't accept me."

He got up and dusted off his robes, evading her eyes, which seemed to tell him things he could not bear to see. 

__

*It was then that I realized that forever was in your eyes*

He looked at Hermione, eyes dry, and seemingly cold again. "Forget everything, Granger. Forget this, the sunset, the stars, the sky." He waved a hand vaguely at the silent lake. "Forget today."

Draco turned away, leaving Hermione. "Forget my words, my tears…"

"Forget my confession."

__

*The moment I saw you cry*

Hermione sat and watched the tall, slender figure stalk towards the cold, stone building. She could clearly see his pale, blond hair, the dark green lining of his robe, his pale hands clutched into fists. But what she couldn't see, was the fresh tears sliding down his cheeks. 

And Draco couldn't see her, but he recalled the worried expression on her face, the way she stepped towards him, curious and anxious at the same time. Then he realized something… _she cared._

*I wanted to hold you*

"I just wanted you… to understand." He stood on the steps and watched the silent girl under the tree, sitting down and apparently staring at the lake, lost in thought. But he knew what Hermione was really doing... she was crying, too.

__

*I wanted to make it go away*

"I'm sorry… I really am." Hermione whispered, watching the stars above wink into life, one by one by one…

__

*I wanted to know you*

"It could have been perfect." Draco didn't move from his position on the steps, the wind fanning his hair getting frostier and frostier. "I could have finally known you well enough to understand. And you…" Draco's dusky eyes grew as cold as the biting wind. "You, Granger, you could have known me well enough to realize that I truly was in love with you."

__

*I wanted to make your everything, all right....*

Hermione hugged her knees. "All I really wanted to do, Draco…" She reached out and crumpled a small amber leaf, crushing it in her palm. "…was to offer you…" Overwhelmed, she put her head down on her knees. 

"to offer you my friendship."

__

*I'll always remember...*

"I'll never forget, Granger." Draco murmured to himself, and to the pitiable figure in the distance. "The day I showed you my true colors."

__

*It was late afternoon…*

"Draco, I'm sorry…" Hermione was still huddled under the tree, and farther away, Draco was still watching her.

"I am so sorry."

__

*In places no one will find…*

He turned and walked back into the warmth of the castle, his jet black robes billowing out behind him. He turned and left her behind, but bringing with him a memory of that afternoon… when everything turned out wrong.

__

*In places no one would find

All your feelings so deep inside*

She sat there and listened to the leaves rustle past her, carrying inside her a painful fantasy of what could have been… and the bitter memory of what really was.

__

*It was then that I realized

That forever was in your eyes*

Two separate souls, that had touched for one brief afternoon by the lake, for one sad moment, a harsh reminder of how different they really were.

And, true as the leaves turn gold, the memory will stay with them forever. True as the leaves fall and die, they will never forget each other.

__

*The moment I saw you cry*


	4. Eternity

__

AN: More fluffangst goodness from the Angel with nothing to do… 

Ahem… someone asked where I got all this angst. Ha, someone please tell me if that was a compliment or an insult! Dearie, (I won't disclose your name), I get this angst from myself, my own bubbling cauldron of emotions, and from a certain brown-blond haired young man by the name of Raf. And for all the angst lovers out there, I present to you the latest so-called tear-jerker of Archangela!

Dedicated to: Raf. No Questions Asked.

Disclaimer: J.K Rowling owns all characters mentioned, but I own the plot and the angst and the barely-there fluff. The eccentric and wonderful Robbie Williams has the rights to the song "Eternity'.

****

Somber Serenade

Close your eyes so you don't hear them

Hermione shut her eyes, unbelieving. _How could this be? For so long… he was gone. And now… this. _She held in her hands a simple letter, plain, and written with a beautiful, flowing script. The handwriting that was once so familiar to her, and now, it had taken her a few minutes to realize who the letter was from.

And now, that she had read and re-read the letter, bringing herself fresh waves of pain, she closed her eyes and began to cry silently.

__

They don't need to see you cry

"Darling, what's wrong?" Someone knelt in front of her, taking her hands in his, ignoring the letter half-hidden in the pillows. Hermione blinked, and the worried face of Harry Potter swam into view in front of her. "N-nothing, Harry…" she tried to smile. "Just that- time of month, I guess." Harry nodded, still worried. "If it's okay with you, I'll go upstairs and put Catherine to sleep…" Harry stood up, and pressing his lips gently to her forehead, walked upstairs.

Hermione sighed and glanced at the letter in her lap, still crying fresh tears.

__

I can't promise I will heal you

-----------

Hermione,

Maybe I should say hello, maybe I should write cheerful banter and pleasantries, and maybe I should have written _Dear _before your name… but I seriously doubt that this letter is going to be cheerful, or pleasant… but there is no question that to me, you are, and will always be dear.

__

But if you want to, I will try

I may have taken you by surprise, have I? Or maybe you've forgotten my handwriting by now. Five years is a long time, but the heart does not easily forget. Mine does not, for sure.

To tell the honest, shameful truth, I do not know why I am writing this letter, or why I am writing this to you. You cannot save me, you have no power to. And if you ever did write back, you will never receive a reply from me ever again.

__

I'll sing this somber serenade

Have you remembered? I have never forgotten. You were my one and only love, and you still are, Hermione… believe me, I have never loved another, since that Day.

__

The past is done

The Day when Ministry officials stormed into our house. The Day I was dragged away from you and the peaceful existence he once had. The Day I saw you on the floor, crying. The Day we lost each other.

It took us by surprise, didn't it? Until today, I cannot believe that one moment I was sitting down to dinner with the most beautiful woman in the world, and the next, I was being held at wand-point by a sinister man in black. Until today, I am still being held at wand-point, and until today, I believe that I will be sitting down to dinner with you… someday.

__

We've been betrayed

Do you really know what happened? Of course you do. It was all over the papers the very next day. _Malfoys Exiled. Wizards With Bad Ideas Carted Away to Who-Knows-Where. _They were very witty, the newspaper people… which is more than I can say for the man who sent us here. 

It seems that we have been exiled because of my father. Yes, my father, the dead one. Lucius. The one who, apparently, walked right into a Muggle World Leaders Meeting and committed suicide. Taking each and every Muggle there with him.

__

It's true

Someone said the truth will out

I believe without a doubt

In you

Hermione, when you remember everything, does it ever hurt you? I sorely wish it doesn't, but whenever I lose myself in memory, here in the cold, dark rooms of the house we are sent to live in, it hurts. It hurts like hell, Hermione, because I miss you. Because I love you.

__

You were there for summer dreaming

One summer seems like a short time to meet and fall hopelessly in love with somebody, doesn't it? Especially if that somebody happens to be the kind of person you've sworn you would hate forevermore. But that summer, the third one after graduation, we met again, and instead, I found myself swearing I would love you forevermore.

__

And you gave me what I need

Hermione, do you know how much I needed you? You were my laughter, my joy, my happiness… my love. You showed me the other half of the world, the one I turned away from the day I was named a Malfoy. You showed me everything I missed. You gave me trust, friendship and love.

__

And I hope you find your freedom

I wish you the best, Hermione. I sit here in this dank, gloomy room, stare around the bare walls and hope with all my heart that you are safe, warm and happy. I don't care if I'm in danger and chilled to the bone, as long as you don't feel any of this, I'm happy as well.

__

For eternity

Please tell me you remember.

__

Yesterday, when we were walking

The moonlit walks by the beach, stargazing on the sand, the tender way we made love… everything we did that summer, I relive over and over again in my head… just so I stay sane.

__

We talked about your mum and dad

Do you know that in that one summer, I opened up to you more than I have opened up to my parents and any of my so-called friends in my whole lifetime? 

I told you almost everything. That I hated Potter only because I had to, that I hated Weasley because he was a pain in the arse, that I hated you once, but not anymore. I told you about my father, the way he used to beat me around, the way he'd deny me dinner once in a while, and breakfast, and lunch as well… My mother, how she loved me, how she spoiled me, how she died defending me from my father once again. Do you visit her grave? Please do.

__

What they did that made you happy

What they did that made you sad

We sat and watched the sun go down

Picked a star before we lost the moon

Looking back, I cannot believe I opened up to you so much. Maybe I shouldn't have. I cannot believe I slept with you, willingly, gladly. Maybe I shouldn't have. I cannot believe I fell in love… with Granger. This is for sure. I should have. 

I don't understand _why, _and I cannot explain, though that could have made things so much better. But Hermione, no one can explain love.

__

Youth is wasted on the young

Did I mention that I once hated you? We were young, I was foolish. I was blind, controlled, inhibited, passionless and unfeeling. 

Sometimes I wish I still am. Then I wouldn't be loving you so, and going through so much pain while at it.

But that would be selfish, don't you think?

__

Before you know, it's come and gone

Too soon

If I had known that I would end up in a lonely, Unplottable piece of island, if I had known that one day, I would be convicted of crimes I never committed, if I had known that one day, the name Malfoy would be a curse, I would have savored every second of that lost summer.

Every kiss, every touch, every smile on your lips, the scent of your hair and the song of the wind.

__

You were there for summer dreaming

One summer, and it all disappeared. Along with the wisps of smoke that curled up from the candle on our bedside, along with the cold glasses of pumpkin juice, along with the press of your lips against mine. Along with you.

__

And you gave me what I need

We'll see each other again, soon. Maybe. But my father's name will never be cleared, and so will mine. I hope against hope, that we'll meet on a busy street, in a day lost over time, and I will be able to make you happy once more.

But Hermione, tell me. Aren't you happy already?

__

And I hope you find your freedom

You've already found happiness, I know. True bliss, as my sources tell me. Pure rapture. They said I should have seen your face glow with pride and joy… the day you walked down the aisle and married Potter.

__

For eternity

Don't act surprised that I know this. Yes, you've married Potter. And you're happy, aren't you? You even have a kid. Catherine, isn't it? Give Catherine a kiss on her forehead for me, and tell her that it's from the man who almost became her father.

If it wasn't for that man's own father.

__

For eternity

Hermione, I am not being bitter. I mean it with all my heart. I would have sent you a spoken letter, but they took away my wand. 

Please, don't cry. I'm happy for you, I truly am. But who's to say I'm not sad for myself?

__

I'll sing this somber serenade

This is sad. I, who has never felt true emotion (other than pride, cold arrogant pride) since five summers ago, feel that this is a sad story to tell. 

But it is the truth. 

Do you want to know another truth? I still love you, Hermione. I don't know if you still love me, or if you even loved me in the first place… but I'm telling you what is undistorted and real. 

__

The past is done

We've been betrayed

Your daughter must be beautiful, if she's taken after you. I'm sure she has. In a few years' time, she'll have finished the entire library.

__

It's true

I hope Potter's fine. I would have said a lot more, but if he ever got hurt, then you get hurt. Because you love him. 

And I should know, that when the one you love is suffering, it's impossible not to get affected as well.

__

Youth is wasted on the young

Hermione Granger Potter, to you, I wish the best of luck in everything, and may you find happiness soon.

No, that was wrong. I was wrong. You've already found happiness, haven't you? In your beautiful home, in the safe, comfortable everyday schedule, in your husband, Potter, and in the beautiful child you gave him.

__

Before you know it's come and gone

Too soon

As for me, I'll just sit here and dream. Dream of the day I'll be able to see you again. Dream of the day I'll be able to touch you once more, even in a simple handshake. Dream of the day, when I'll be able to live once more…

__

You were there for summer dreaming

Dream of that summer lost.

__

And you are a friend indeed

I'll always love you, even if you don't love me back, Hermione. For the rest of my life.

__

And I know you'll find your freedom

Hermione, all I really want is your happiness. Even if I'm not part of it.

- Draco -

__

-----------

For eternity

Hermione covered her face with her hands and cried. She cried for that man, lost and lonely, living on a dream that will never come true. She cried for Harry, knowing that she never truly loved him, and never truly will. She cried for Catherine, child born of a false love, a child that could never have been born at all. And she cried for herself, simply because she had absolutely no idea what to do.

The parchment, folded and re-folded, marked with tear-stains, floated to the floor, that parchment, laboriously written by quill by candlelight, by that lost and lonely man, living on a dream that could never come true.

__

For eternity


	5. Reason

__

AN: Well, you must be pretty sick and tired of me and my friend Angst by now, huh? ;p 

__

Too bad, 'coz here I am, armed with ANOTHER angst-filled songfic, AND it's my favorite pairing! D/H! Hehe, so… be nice to me and drop a review on the way out, 'coz it's what keeps me breathing. (Along with cheeseburgers and pizza and my daily dose of Daria!) 

Disclaimer: All characters up ahead, and everything else even vaguely familiar to Hp lovers, belongs to the first Human Wonder of the World, JK Rowling. Everything else, like angst and OOC behavior, well… that's mine! The sentimental and rather melancholy song I'm using is "Reason For Breathing" belongs to Babyface, the master at writing emotional songs. My songfic hardly does it justice.

Dedicated to: Raf, my _reason for breathing._

****

Reason For Breathing

If I cried like a baby

****

Draco sat down on his bed, a staggering sense of loss filling his body and threatening to overwhelm him. "Well… that was uncalled for…" he whispered, still stunned, still heartbroken. _Why did she leave? What did I do wrong?_

__

Would you change your mind?

Draco turned his blank, bewildered silver-grey eyes to a framed picture sitting on a finely carved table beside his bed. It was a moving photograph of two very happy young people. One, was Draco himself, but the change in his features was breathtaking. In the picture, he was open and laughing, eyes twinkling with mirth. The real Draco, which was sitting numbly on the bed, was pale and sad, fighting an inner battle. 

The other one in the picture was a pretty young woman, laughing as well, holding an icecream cone in one of her hands. The other hand rested possessively on the chest of the Draco in the photograph.

__

If I told you I'm crazy

Draco reached out and took the picture in his hands, gazing down at it sadly, touching the cold glass that covered the photo. "Hermione…" he whispered. And at the sound of her name, the girl in the photo looked up, smiling.

It was that smile that broke Draco, that smile he was missing so much, and he flung the frame across the room in a fit of anger, and he buried his face in his hands.

__

Would you come running back to me?

He swallowed breakfast, ignoring the quality of the food, or even what he was eating. His heart was broken, and he cared about nothing else. Draco watched his coffee mixing itself, and he let his thoughts wander back to that day…

__

The harder I try to break away

flashback "Draco…" Hermione took his hand in hers, eyes downcast. Draco touched her cheek, worried. "What's wrong?" 

"I… I don't think we should be like this anymore."

"What?"

"Draco, stop it. You know what I mean."

Silence…

"Draco, please understand."

"Oh, yes… I understand."

"Good."

"Hermione…"

"No, don't say anything… you'll just… mess it all up all over again."

"Please…"

"No! Stop it! Goodbye, Draco. It's over… okay?"

And he watched her walk away, with Potter beside her. The arsehole didn't even wait until they were out of sight before leaning down to Hermione and kissing her like the world was going to end.

end flashback

__

The more I get lost in yesterday

Draco glared down at his eggs and bacon, angrily gripping his glass. *crack* He closed his eyes against the pain in his hand, spreading through his whole arm. He didn't care about the blood… all he wanted was Hermione. 

A house-elf hurried to his side, eyes bulging at the sight of Draco's bloodied hand. "Mister Malfoy, would you like me to…"

"No!" Draco got up and walked away. _Sorry, Hermione._

The man you know is just a shell

Dear Draco, 

I'm worried about you. You haven't been answering my letters, and you haven't been showing up for our parties either. 

It was that horrible Mudblood, wasn't it? Has she cursed you, or anything? Mixing with her kind is bad enough, Draco, and falling in love is unthinkable. It's a good thing you broke up with her, but I suggest you have yourself checked with a mediwizard.

I'm more than glad to come over to your house and pay you a visit, just owl me back.

Love and kisses,

Pansy

Draco skimmed through the letter, and wrinkled his nose when he saw the name written on the bottom. He crumpled up the paper, touched his wand to it and whispered "_Incendio." _

__

Living without your life is just hell

Everywhere, there were memories. Damnit, a bottle of her perfume still stood on his desk. The balcony where they had sat and watched the sunset, the tray where he brought her breakfast every morning, the couch they had made love in…

The memories were too damn painful. Especially when he was still madly in love with the girl.

__

I turn on the radio just to take the hurt away

Another night and I'm missing you

Girl, it's killing me, well

Draco stopped eating regularly. He couldn't sit at that table, and bear with the memories of Hermione sitting right across him, smiling, reaching over to him to slide a teasing finger down his neck…

Draco put his head in his hands, desperately trying to forget the girl who had so easily walked into his life, and just as easily, walked out of it.

__

I don't want to die tonight but I think I might be going down

Draco sat up on his bed, breathing uneven, chest heaving, hair disheveled and eyes darting about wildly. _I can't stand it anymore! _Not another dream, please…

Dreaming about her kisses, her silken skin, her eyes that reached into his soul… when he'd wake up and realize that she would never be that close to him again.

__

Because the only one I ever cared about is nowhere to be found

"Hello?"

"Potter, where's Hermione?."

"Malfoy? What do you want?"

"I bloody want to talk to Hermione!"

"She's not here."

"Shut up. You've been shagging her, and she's right beside you on the bed, in nothing but a bedsheet wrapped around her, watching you talk to me with wide eyes."

"How did you learn to use a telephone?"

"Maybe the question is _why _I learned how to use this bloody thing."

"Then?"

"Because I want to talk to Hermione, damnit!"

"She's not here."

"Fucking Potter…."

*click*

__

I don't want to close my eyes 'coz I might not see the light of day

Draco dropped the telephone receiver onto the floor of the phone booth. He glared at it, then stalked out of the booth, whispering a quick Warming Spell against the cold. 

__

I'm almost out of air

"Where did we go wrong?" He whispered, head in hands. "I was changed when I was with her. I was… different. I was actually…" He smiled at the irony of his words. "…nice… And now that she's gone, I'm back to what I was before… a bloody arsehole…" Draco shook his head. "No, a _lonely _bloody arsehole."

__

You're my reason for breathing

"Oh god, Hermione…" Draco wrapped his arms around himself, and he could feel it, he was wasting away. "Come back. Please… and you should know yourself, Malfoys _never _say please."

__

You're my reason for breathing

Draco looked at himself in the mirror. Handsome as ever. Only the slight shadows under his eyes, and the slightest decrease in his weight were the physical signs of his heartbreak. His dusky eyes took in every inch of himself, from neat silver-blond hair to the expensive shoes on his feet. 

Then his eye fell on a certain picture frame, lying broken at his feet. Draco's eyes darkened and he walked over to the fire. He threw a handful of glittering purple powder into the green flames, and called "Zabini!"

__

I don't wanna go clubbing, I got no one to dance with me

Blaise Zabini's head appeared in the fire, looking just as groomed as Draco, but definitely not as handsome. "What is it, Draco?" Draco avoided his gaze. "I'm not going tonight, Zabini, so don't expect me." Blaise looked thunderstruck. 

"What?!"

"You heard me."

"But Pansy really wanted to see you…"

"I don't want to see her."

"And everyone else, like Crabbe and Goyle…"

"So?"

"Draco, you have to go!"

"No… go ahead and party without me."

"It won't be the same. And that Granger girl's going to be there, with Potter. A chance to torment them… right?"

"Do I care?!" Draco lost his temper and got to his feet. "No, I didn't think so, so shut up and sign off!" Blaise nodded quickly, and with a slight pop, disappeared from the flames.

__

I don't want to go shopping, I got no one to spend my money on

"I loved her, didn't I? I spent a thousand Galleons on her birthday, and that doesn't include the gift, damnit…" Draco sat by the fire, still dressed in fine clothes, clutching a glass of the finest wine in the whole of France.

__

Spending my time with one glass of wine

Draco took a sip from the crystal glass, and staring down into the dark red depths, swirled the wine around, creating a whirlpool in which to drown his sorrows in. 

__

Playing solitaire just to ease my mind

"Bloody ten." Draco threw down the cards in exasperation. "Where the hell is that jack, damnit."

He swept the cards off his table, and watched as the scattered cards formed a deck before gently resting on the floor. "This isn't working."

__

Poured one for you, but I drank that too

Anything to kill the pain of losing you

Draco looked down at his glass. "I'm pining for her, aren't I?" He whispered hoarsely. "But I doubt…" He took a sip of the wine as dark as blood. "I doubt, I say, if drinking my way through Father's wine cellar is going to bring her back." He tipped the remaining drops of wine between his lips. "The same goes for solitaire." 

The wineglass, made of wizard Swarovski, crashed onto the stone floor. "But, hell, it sure helps pass the time waiting for her."

__

I turn on the radio just to take the hurt away

Another night and I'm missing you

Girl, it's killing me

"Hermione, are you reading this? Because if you are, well… good, because I've got something important to say."

__

I don't wanna die tonight, but I think I might be going down

"I wanted you to know, I miss you. Damnit, I _need _you."

__

Because the only one I ever cared about is nowhere to be found

"I don't know the exact reasons you walked out on me with bloody Potter, and I'd like to know. Because I've been missing you since that day, and I haven't exactly been the same. Ask Zabini and Parkinson. 

I've tried to contact you, even to the extent of asking some old, blind Muggle how to use a bloody telephone. I hope you're paying attention, because it's as painful as hell to write this."

__

I don't wanna close my eyes 'cause I might not see the light of day

"Damnit, Hermione! Every night, I lie awake with my eyes wide open, simply because if I fall asleep, I'll dream about you… and the pain I have to face when I wake up. Why is this happening? Why did you leave me?"

__

I'm almost out of air

"Do you want to know something? Parkinson, that pushy bitch, told me get myself checked by a mediwizard. She sent some over to the Manor the next day. I was malnourished, damnit. I stopped eating, because my house-elves don't cook the way you do. Because when I eat, I can feel your hand on my shoulder, reaching up under my shirt, your lips on my cheek, your scent in my hair.

You always liked to ambush me at the breakfast table, didn't you?"

__

You're my reason for breathing

"I never thought I'd end up like this, pouring my heart out to someone. Someone who probably isn't even reading these lines. Someone who probably tossed this into her fire the moment she read the name on the outside of the envelope."

__

You're my reason for breathing

"Someone whom I once loved… and who I still do."

__

So I'm reaching out on this distant line

"This is costing me a lot. I thought you might want to know that. Not through money, I have a lot to spend, and I would gladly give it all up to talk to you face to face this very moment. But this is costing me my pride, and if you've ever really loved me all long, you'll know that that's got to hurt."

__

Hoping deep inside your heart's gonna find a reason

To keep me breathing

"I still don't know what I did to make you leave me… but whatever it was, I apologize for it. I'm sorry, Hermione. Understand that you're the sole reason I'm alive. I live for you, and for all your worth."

__

But I'm lost in this pain and I don't have much time

I'm so tired of walking this same old line

"You don't know what I look like now, do you? That's good. Because, I'm thin. No, not slender, as you used to say I was, when after love-making, you'd run your hand down my side, smile and tell me I'm slender. 

No. nothing like I was before. People stare at me, wondering whatever happened to the handsome, sleek, elegant Draco Malfoy. I want to tell them… _his girlfriend left him, and he has no reason to live anymore."_

So I'm taking my pride, gonna throw it aside

Please let me breathe girl, I'm sorry

"There. I said, it, didn't I? I apologized, and I told you just how much you mean to me. Is that enough? Will you come back? Hermione, _please… I love you…"_

I don't wanna die tonight, but I think I might be going down

'Cause the only one I ever cared about is nowhere to be found

The young man, pale in the light of the candle, folded the letter, written by a shaking hand, and tied it to the leg of the black owl on his windowsill. He watched the bird fly away, melting into the inky black of the night…

He stood up and walked back to his bed, head bowed. Draco Malfoy laid his head down on the soft pillow, surrounded by riches, silk and satin, and closed his eyes.

__

I don't wanna close my eyes 'cause I might not see the light of day

I'm almost out of air

She took one look at the owl, and the happy expression on her face faded. Somber, she took the letter from its leg, and shooed the owl away.

Hermione opened the letter, scanning the lines quickly. Her eyes, once cold, grew softer as she read the lines written in a handwriting unrecognizable. When she reached the end of the letter, they were filled with tears.

She buried her head in her arms and began to sob. The candle beside her flickered and went out, killed by a gust of frigid wind from the open window. The same breath of wind carried out her whispered words, blowing them into the starry night…

__

"Draco, I'm sorry…"

You're my reason for breathing


	6. Underneath Your Clothes

AN: A less angsty, more sensual type of songfic you got here! I'm using "Underneath Your Clothes" by Shakira, so… explanations overruled. This one sucks, and I'll probably remove it if I don't get that many reviews. *sigh* I don't write anything good and sensual at the same time… I'm just angst and fluff. :(

Disclaimer: All characters and canon behavior up ahead belongs to the bloody marvelous J.K. Rowling. However, all OOC behavior, bad writing and anything unfamiliar belongs to me!

The wonderfully balladicious (I made that word up! ballad + delicious!) song "Underneath Your Clothes" belongs to the equally wonderful Shakira. Hehe.

**__**

~*~ Your Scars ~*~

You're a song written by the hands of God

Hermione reached up, and slowly, ever so slowly, touched his cheek. Draco closed his eyes at her touch, and she smiled to herself. _What am I doing? _She wondered, taking pleasure in the soft curve of his jaw. Another voice answered from the back of her mind. _Falling in love with your worst enemy. _

Out loud, she spoke, startling even herself. "You're beautiful, did you know that?" He opened those piercing silver-blue eyes that could be so cold, yet now were filled with a strange emotion. He looked down at her, and laid a finger on her lips. "Of course I knew that."

__

Don't get me wrong, this might sound to you a bit odd

Hermione shifted her position on the soft couch where she was sitting, and moved closer to Draco. "Do you have any idea… how much you mean to me?" Draco sat there, eyes fixed on her face. Then he shook his head slowly. "No. Tell me."

__

But you're the place where all my thoughts go hiding

"You're my outlet."

"What?"

"I run to you."

"I knew that."

"When I'm sad."

"Yes…"

"When I'm hurt."

"Yes."

"When I need someone to love."

"Really?"

"Someone to pour my feelings into."

__

Right under your clothes is where I'll find them

Draco pulled her towards him, bringing her lips to his. "That was extremely flattering."

__

Underneath your clothes

__

Slowly, Hermione unbuttoned Draco's shirt, her dark eyes never leaving his face. Draco watched her, an intense expression of… what? Caution, withholding, and was there… fear? Fear at what she might see.

__

There's an endless story

The smallest of gasps from Hermione's lips. A rustle of cloth as Draco grabbed his shirt closed once more. "Draco… what happened?" Pure concern in her voice, shock in her eyes. Draco turned away. "Nothing."

Hermione, suddenly impulsive, took away his hands, firmly but gently. With a gentle finger, she traced the white scars on the pale skin of Draco's chest.

__

There's the man I chose

"I still can't believe we're doing this." Draco's voice was unnaturally hoarse, and his eyes were in shadow, giving no clue of how he felt. "I can. I'm right here, with you. I can feel the blood beating in your veins, and I can taste your pain." Hermione whispered, resting her head against Draco's chest.

__

There's my territory

"You're mine, Granger."

She tossed her head back to stare up into his suddenly twinkling eyes. "That's _Hermione." _Draco smiled and tangled his fingers in her hair, touching his lips to hers in a searing kiss.

__

And of all the things I deserve

For being such a good girl, honey

His hands were suddenly on her upper arms, gripping her firmly, pulling her closer, never letting go. Her eyelashes rested against her cheek, like dark smudges against her creamy skin. His lips were warm, burning even, searing into hers, telling her things he could never truly say.

Hermione's hand snaked up to rest against the back of his neck, because, through the haze of passion enveloping her brain, she knew she wanted this.

__

Because of you, I forgot the smart ways to rhyme

Draco suddenly jerked away, as if touching something hot. And from the way Hermione was feeling, he probably did. He stared at her, her tousled hair, half-unbuttoned blouse, and bruised lips. He drew away, saying in a rough whisper "Do you have _any _idea what you're doing to me?"

Hermione felt something surging through her body, an incredible sense of irritation. _Why did he stop? I wanted it, I needed it, and he did, too… we both know we need each other… _She took one step towards Draco, hand out. "Yes, Draco. I know what I'm doing to you. I'm completely destroying your pride, and your family honor. I'm making you think of yourself in ways you never did before. I'm changing your whole point of view." She came close, and slid a teasing finger under his chin, eyes blazing. "I'm wrecking your whole life."

Draco's eyes suddenly blazed with a fire to match hers, and he grabbed her wrists. "You know what else? Do you know what else you're doing to me?"

__

Because of you, I'm running out of reasons to cry

"You're making me fall in love with you." 

Draco's lips touched her cheek, then traveled dangerously down her neck. Hermione shut her eyes, unable to stop the pleasure from setting her on fire.

__

When the friends are gone

When the party's over

"You're doing exactly the same thing to me…" Hermione whispered, as she felt Draco's hand move to her abdomen. She stroked the side of his neck, eyes shut, as if it was all some dream she would never wake up from.

__

We'll still belong to each other

Draco's mouth was hot and moist against the back of her ear, and she was dizzy from the sensuality of what his lips could do to her. As his hand crept under her shirt, a disturbing thought came into her head, and she moved away, pushing him away and fixing him with a slight glare.

"What are you in this for?" she asked. Draco's eyes were dark with desire, and the way he stared back at her was almost unbearable. "What do you mean?" he replied, in a voice that made her knees weak. "Are you in this for the sex?" 

Then Draco's eyes unclouded, and they held the faintest trace of emotion. "What makes you say that?" Hermione smiled, satisfied. "Nothing."

__

Underneath your clothes

There's an endless story

His soft lips touched the recess at the base of her neck, and Hermione moved her head back, running her fingers through his silken hair. Her hands found their way under his open shirt, and with her fingers, touched the scars, that, once before, must have given him great agony.

__

There's the man I chose

__

He had a great number of scars lining his otherwise perfect body. Hermione discovered these as she ran her hands over Draco's tense arms. _He's got a great many more, I know… but those are on the inside, and I doubt if he even wanted me to know about these scars. _

Hermione touched her lips to Draco's ear. "You poor thing." She whispered teasingly, and Draco's darkened eyes met hers, and he silenced her with a last kiss.

__

There's my territory

And all the things I deserve

For being such a good girl, honey


	7. Everything You Want

__

AN: I can hear you sighing as you read this. "Not another angst fic!" Well, people have asked me why I keep writing these, and I decided to tell them why: Because I want to! And because I especially like writing, and I especially like angst. Put them together, and you get Archangela, mainly: ME. So, if you think that's not good enough, well: FYI: All my songfics have different plots, and they use different songs, and they're all 100% original, excluding the songs and the characters, of course. So, still not satisfied? Well, get acquainted with your back button, because I am NOT taking any crap from a flamer who has absolutely no reason to flame me either than disliking my pairing. 

Beware the fury of Archangela scorned. (By the way, I was going to name this Echoes of Angela. Haha.)

And by the way: the HE in the song lyrics refers to Harry, okay?

Disclaimer: Characters, song, not mine, belong to J.K Rowling and Vertical Horizon, accordingly. Angst, plot, relation ship angle, unfortunate circumstances, OOC behavior and anything else that makes you go "Huh?!" belongs to me.

Dedicated to: Rob Thomas from Matchbox 20 for giving me another idea for my next songfic. (I can hear you screaming "NOT AGAIN!") and to Linkin Park for the extremely, wonderfully melancholic "My December". And to myself, I guess, for driving my convertible over the edge of a cliff the night I told a certain someone I loved him. Read on and you'll get it.

****

Echoes of Angels

Draco Thomas Magnum Malfoy did not expect his doorbell to ring. It was the middle of the night, and it was raining cats and dogs. Draco Thomas Magnum Malfoy did not expect anyone to actually dare ring it all. His new neighbors were extremely wary of 'that Malfoy boy.' Draco Thomas Magnum Malfoy did not expect to fling open the door and drop the mug of coffee he was holding. He dropped it in surprise, and Malfoys are rarely surprised.

"Granger?! What the bloody hell-"

"Shut up, Malfoy. And let me in. I'm freezing my arse off out here."

"Let your arse freeze. Like I care. What the hell are you doing here?"

"Look, just… let me in!"

"No."

"Please!"

"Why?"

"Because…"

"I'm waiting for a good explanation, and there's coffee all over my damn rug. This came from Persia, damnit!"

"Harry and I had a fight, okay?"

Draco barely raised an eyebrow. He just moved back to let her in, and slammed the door behind her. Grabbing his wand, he pointed at the spreading spot on the carpet. "_Diliunus." _The spot of coffee began to spread faster. "Oh, shit."

Hermione heaved a sigh, and took out her own wand, the wood slightly damp, and whispered a spell through chattering teeth. _"Mespinus." _The coffee disappeared. Draco pointed toward the kitchen. "Over there, show-off."

__

Somewhere there's speaking

Several minutes later, Hermione was huddled at the kitchen table, wrapped in a towel she had to find herself, and clutching a mug of coffee she had to make herself. Draco leaned against the kitchen counter, watching her shiver, sipping his own coffee.

"So, again, why are you here?"

__

It's already coming in

"Look, we had a fight, nothing too big. Nothing I can't handle." Hermione held up her shaking hands. Draco raised an eyebrow. "Nothing you can't handle, eh? Well, what are you doing in the kitchen of your worst enemy?" Hermione looked at him. "Are we still enemies?" she asked, a hint of disbelieving in her shaking voice.

__

Oh and it's rising at the back of your mind

Draco stared at her. Then he turned away. "I don't know." Hermione sighed and looked at the window, at the pouring rain. "Well, can we please call a truce?" When Draco turned back to her with genuine surprise on his face, she sighed again. "For tonight, only."

Draco frowned. "Why?"

You never could get it unless you were fed it

Hermione looked at him as if he was the stupidest thing on planet earth. "Harry. And. I. Had. A. Fight." She spoke, enunciating every syllable clearly. Draco lost his temper and slammed his fists onto the kitchen table, bringing his face a few inches away from hers. "I know that, damnit! What's with the damn truce?! Why don't I simply pour coffee down your throat and leave you here until the rain stops, and _then _throw you out the door?" Hermione leaned back, eyes widening. "Draco…!" Draco sat down on the chair in front of her, surprised.

"Draco, Harry's angry. He probably wouldn't want to see my face until… oh, I don't know… a few days from now? So…" Hermione looked at him, with a trace of embarrassment in her eyes. "Can I sleep here for a night?" 

__

Now you're here and you don't know why

Draco stared at her, soaking wet, hair hanging in damp coils around her face, eyes slightly red from crying. He stared right into those eyes, eyes that had shed tears a while ago, when her boyfriend, the great, good, famous Harry Potter had pushed her out into the street, wearing nothing but the silk kimono she had now draped a fluffy mint-green bathroom towel over.

Hermione stared back, into those piercing silvery-grey eyes that had, a few years ago, been so cold and uninviting, now questioning and curious.

Finally, Draco spoke.

"Why should I let you?"

__

But under skinned knees and the skid marks

Hermione got up, the towel falling to the floor, hair hanging over her face, eyes hidden. "Okay. Well, thanks for the coffee anyway. I'm lucky you even opened the door. Goodbye." She walked to the front door, her bare feet padding softly across the cold marble floor.

__

Past the places where you used to learn

Draco numbly watched those feet. _Her bloody feet are bare. They are fucking _bare. He looked out the window, where the rain was pouring harder than ever. _She bloody fucking walked through three blocks to get to my apartment… Damnit. _

"Granger?"

"I was just about to leave. Thank you, Malfoy."

"Damnit. Shut up and come in."

Silence.

"Are you coming in, or not?"

"Thanks, Draco."

__

You howl and listen

Back to the kitchen, coffee mugs back in place. Draco was back in his chair across Hermione, thinking about her feet. He blinked, then raised his wand in the air. _"Accio Slippers." _Two slippers flew towards Hermione, and they landed at her feet. "Put them on." He was looking away, avoiding her gaze.

Hermione looked at her feet. They were encased in fluffy pink bedroom slippers. She almost laughed out loud. "Thanks, Draco. Pretty bunny slippers."

Draco turned a becoming shade of pink. "I always thought someone would show up on my doorstep in the middle of night, a female, you know… soaking wet and broken-hearted…"

__

Listen and wait

He looked down into the depths of his empty coffee mug. "I just didn't expect it would be you."

__

For the echoes of angels who won't return

Draco looked up and met her eyes. Silver to brown. Expressionless to sad. Draco to Hermione. 

"You know…" 

"Yes?"

"Potter doesn't deserve you."

Silence from the brunette. Another question from the blonde.

"Why do you put up with him?"

"Draco…"

"Oh shit."

"Huh?"

"Maybe I shouldn't have said that."

Hermione smiled at him. "Maybe it was essential that you said what you said."

__

He's everything you want

Draco shrugged. They continued to drink their coffee, quietly grateful for each other's presence.

"Draco, why did you say that?" She asked, a while later, when she felt there was need for conversation.

"I mean what I say… Malfoys _always_ mean what they say… but they don't always say what they mean."

__

He's everything you need

Hermione chuckled. "What number in the Malfoy Code of Conduct book is that?" 

"Nine hundred and fourteen." Draco answered promptly. They began to laugh.

__

He's everything inside of you

That you wish you could be

"So, back to the question…" Draco watched her making the coffee spill on the table change colors. She ducked her head, avoiding his gaze. "I don't know why I 'put up with Potter.' I love him, I guess." Draco felt something inside melt. Maybe it was his heart. _That's stupid. I threw my heart out along with all my pleasantness a long, long time ago. _Hermione's words echoed in his head. "I love him, I guess."

__

Yet he means nothing to you

Hermione looked up. "Well, maybe, I _loved _him." Draco stared at her for a minute. "Hermione, do you think I'm pleasant?" he asked, unconsciously using her first name. Hermione blinked at him. "What?"

"You heard me."

"Well…"

__

And you don't know why

"Yes… you're pleasant enough, I think. I mean, you let me walk right into your house…" Draco blinked. _And right into my life… _He coughed. "Oh, okay. Thank you… I guess." _Okay, so if my pleasantness is here, then so must my heart. _

Hermione looked at Draco. "Okay, my turn for a question!" She said brightly, dispelling the heavy atmosphere that hung after Draco's smile. She grinned at Draco. "Why did you open the door and let me in?"

__

You're waiting for someone

Draco raised an eyebrow. "I definitely didn't have plans to rip your clothes off and shag you… so I hope you weren't suspecting that." Hermione didn't even blink. "Of course. So, _why_?" Draco shrugged again. "Pity."

"And that once-in-a-lifetime snogging session with you in the broom closet 

right before graduation helped, too, you know."

__

To put you together

Hermione threw her head back and laughed. "Omigod, you still remember that?! That seems so long ago…" Draco grinned. "Exactly. Why do you think I left you alone for the rest of our years after Hogwarts, even though I was in an apartment three blocks away from yours?" 

"Oh god, that snog session was exactly what I was thinking about when I rang your doorbell a while ago!"

__

You're waiting for someone to push you away

"You were such a jerk! You used to torment us _everyday…" _Hermione thought back to the days when Draco Malfoy was someone she wouldn't even glance at in the corridors. _You were such an arsehole… of course, that's in the past tense. In fact… I liked that fire in you… if only it wasn't always directed towards me, or my friends. _

Slowly, she reached out, and watching him carefully, placed her hand over his. He looked up at her, silver eyes unreadable, yet burning with a strange fire. 

__

There's always another wound to discover

"Hermione," Draco began, and his voice sounded withheld. "why didn't you just Apparate to Weasley's house, or your parents'… or anything?" He looked down at their hands, lying on the kitchen table, hers covering his. He slowly entwined her fingers with his. "Why did you come to me?"

__

There's always something more you wish he'd say

Hermione looked up, eyes bright. "I seriously don't know…" She smiled at him, and Draco realized, like a bolt of lightning, that she was beautiful, both inside and outside. "You, Draco… tell me why I left my boyfriend of two years and came running to you."

__

He's everything you want

Draco frowned. "Why would you leave your boyfriend Potter in the first place?… Well, if he wasn't so ticked off, that is." He added. "Back in Hogwarts, you two were the School Boy and Girl, and awarded the First place prize for 'Two Students Most Likely To Sleep Together.'" He grinned at Hermione, who blushed. 

__

He's everything you need

"I remember… people always pointed and sighed when they saw the two of you together, holding hands underneath the tree beside the lake… and you couldn't look me in the eye for the rest of the graduation ceremony because Potter was sitting beside you, and our snog session was still in your mind." They laughed at his. "Even Parkinson saw the 'thing' between you and Scarface…" Draco coughed. "She just pulled my arm everywhere she went." Draco put on a high, shrill imitation of Pansy's voice. "Dracooooo! Why aren't you talking to meeee? Look at Potter and that Mudbloooood! They're sooooo sickening togetheeeerrr!"

__

He is everything inside of you that you wish you could be

"You admired him, didn't you?" Draco asked a question fueled by a spark in his eyes. Hermione looked down at the finely polished wooden table. "Yes… I did. And I probably still do. But love him? I really don't know about that…" 

__

He says all the right things at exactly the right time

"Harry and I were so _perfect _together, even Ron agreed." Hermione removed her hand from Draco's and began tracing the wood grain of the table. "He knew what to say to make me laugh, he knew what to say to make me cry…"

__

But he means nothing to you

"He said all of those things tonight, and he mostly made me cry." Hermione's head was bowed, and Draco felt an aching in his heart that supposedly wasn't there. "But you came to me, not to Weasley or any of your Gryffindor friends…" he whispered, and she nodded. 

"Why do you stick with Potter, then, if he makes you cry?"

__

And you don't know why

She shrugged, and the towel slid off her shoulders to lie in a minty puddle of cotton on the floor. Draco stood up, walked over to her and placed it back onto her shoulders, silently offering his comfort, his house, and himself.

__

But you'll just sit tight

And watch it unwind

"So, is this the end of your Potter infatuation?" Draco asked, quietly hoping for an affirmative answer. _Why? What do I care if she goes back to that arsehole? _he whispered to the mind that answered back _You care a lot._

It's only what you're asking for

Hermione shrugged again, clutching the towel this time. "I don't know. I guess so." She tapped her mug with her wand, and it refilled with steaming, sweet coffee. "But you know, I think it ended three years ago."

And you'll be just fine

In all of your time

Draco patted her hand in a friendly way, hoping she didn't take the gesture too lightly, or too far. "Then, what are doing with your life? What are you waiting for?" He smiled at her, trying to tell her that she'll never get this close to him ever again. "Go out there and find your imperfect, flawed, lovable Prince Charming."

__

It's only what you're waiting for.

Hermione's mind raced. _Here he was giving her a chance of a lifetime, and smiling at her in the most heartwarming way… was she going to take the chance? _

She smiled back, and with a simple sentence, she took the chance Draco gave her, and buried it in her heart for all time. 

"Draco, I think I've already found him."

__

Out of the island

With every additional sentence she spoke, Hermione felt as if she was taking a verbal road trip. She had already pumped the gas and taken off the brake, and was speeding on a worded highway towards either love… or a painful carcrash.

"He's been right in front of me all the time. This handsome, yet flawed and broken Prince Charming of mine. He taunted me through my years, and was a royal pain-in-the-arse, when all he really was… was a royal young man destined to fall in love with the girl who walked through the door in the middle of a freezing, rainy night, crying her eyes out."

Farther and farther down the road, past the speed limit, stepping on the gas, taking every chance, risking her life and pride and reputation. Would he pull her over and condemn her for speeding, or would he jump into her car and speed away with her beside him? She'd find out soon enough.

__

Onto the highway

She was flooring the accelerator, wind blowing past her open window…

"He's been with me all my life, you know."

Go one, Hermione… risk it all… Draco sat there, eyes inscrutable, still as stone.

__

Past the places you might have turned

She could have stopped right then and there. She could have saved herself from the brink of disaster by standing up, telling him it was Ron all along, and Disapparating, leaving Draco to wonder, or to fume at her boldness. 

But no.

She wasn't going to turn, to move off this dangerous verbal race against herself. She wasn't going to give up and back out… not now. She had gone too far, past all the exits, and now she was hurtling for either eternal bliss, or eternal humiliation. Did she care? Nope.

She loved him, this Draco Malfoy, and right now, she was prepared to drive her verbal convertible over the edge of the mental ravine just to show him how much she really cared.

__

You never did notice

But you still hide away

Her verbal motor roared, startling even herself at how powerful her words were. But she kept on driving, the accelerator to the floor. 

"So, I have no idea what this Prince feels or what he's made of. He's a cold kind of guy, but I've seen him show flashes of hospitality and kindness… and maybe even affection. He's wonderfully enigmatic. 

Now, I might leave my boyfriend and run away with him to some beautifully exotic hideaway. I like him, not for his money, but for the strange stuff that he is made of."

Closer and closer to the edge. Closer and closer to finding out what Draco was _really_ made of.

__

The anger of angels who won't return

"This Prince of mine, I've fallen madly in love with him… since this one night, when he let me into his house, called me a know-it-all, made me coffee, teased me, almost threw me out again, made me coffee again, entertained me, and held my hand…" Hermione's breath caught in her throat. 

Time to rev up her verbal engine and take the plunge that could end in either bliss, or suffering.

"And you know this Prince of mine, wonderfully flawed, and believably broken, he's sitting right across from me now, still as stone, listening to every word I say. I don't know if he loves me, the way I love him. I don't know if he loves me with all his heart and soul, or if he has fallen for me head over heels, n exactly the way I fell for him… but there's one thing I know…"

Tires slipping on the edge. One more sentence, and she would fall. For good. For better or for worse.

"I know, that I finally found my Prince Charming in you, Draco."

The shocking silence that commences when a car falls over the edge of a rocky slope, heading for something unpredictable right under it. The air, whooshing past, like time was flying by. The scenery reduced to blurs of green and brown, like the rain outside and the unfamiliar kitchen dissolving in the entirety of love unsolved. 

He stood up, eyes unfathomable, unreadable. Draco walked over to her, leaned down, and kissed her.

Somewhere in a world where rainy midnights and angry boyfriends existed, a phone began to ring.

Draco leaned back and touched her lips, his eyes strangely soft and bright at the same time. "I wanted to do that since the moment you walked through my door." Hermione smiled. "What about ripping my clothes off and shagging me as hard as you can?" Draco grinned. "That's for later. Meanwhile, I answer the silly Muggle phone, and you go back to sipping your coffee."

__

I am everything you want

"Malfoy residence."

"What do you want, Potter?"

__

I am everything you need

Hermione stood up from the table at the sound of the name, and made her way to the room where Draco stood, glaring into the phone.

"What the fuck do you mean you want Granger?"

"Oh, so the Widow Alden next door told you she saw her walk into my house?"

"Widow Alden won't have any teeth tomorrow morning."

"Just leave her here. She's in good hands."

"My hands are fucking good enough, arsehole!"

"It's _you_ who can't bloody keep them to yourself!"

__

I am everything inside of you

Hermione took out her wand and whispered a spell. Instantly, a figure of Harry appeared in the room, clutching a telephone receiver, rage burning in his emerald eyes.

"Damnit, Malfoy! Just send Hermione over!"

"For what? So you can throw her out into the rain all over again?"

__

That you wish you could be

Hermione shuddered. _How could I have loved him? He was a wonderful friend, and maybe we just took it too far…_

"Look, you don't love her." Draco's eyes were burning with horrifying rage.

"Yes I do!"

"Love doesn't throw you out onto the street. It invites you in, and makes you coffee. It makes you laugh when you cry, and it gives you fluffy pink bedroom slippers." Draco's eyes held some intense emotion, and what it was, no one could guess. He continued to speak into the phone. "Love doesn't make you walk three blocks in the pouring rain in your bare feet. Love means letting people into your life and keeping them there, not throwing them out to run and cry on the shoulder of one who really does care…"

Hermione covered her face in her hands and began to cry.

__

I say all the right things at exactly the right time

Silence on the other end of the phone.

Draco hung up and turned to Hermione.

"Don't cry… I'm sorry." He looked out the window at the lightening sky. "Look, I'll show you up to your room… I'll just go get it ready." Draco moved towards the stairs, but Hermione reached out and touched his arm.

"Please don't go."

__

But I mean nothing to you and you don't know why

They sat there, a princess in a damp kimono and fluffy pink slippers, and a broken prince, arms around each other. They sat there, and waited for the sun to rise.

__

And I don't know why


	8. I Miss You

AN: Who loves Incubus here?! Oh well, drop me a review after the fic, then. Not many people I know like them… *sigh* But when I found out my crush of five years liked them as much as I did, I was elated. Haha… who wouldn't be? But hey, let me stop there. Here's a Draco angst songfic, based "I Miss You" by Incubus. Hey, it's a short song, it's a relatively short songfic!

Flames, praise, pledges of allegiance, marriage vows and anything else, like links to really good HP or Sum41 fics, well, what's the review button for? HINT (Yes, I like Sum41 too! Mmm.)

Disclaimer: All characters, canon behavior and anything familiar that makes you go "Ah…" belongs to the wonderful JK Rowling. Anything else that makes you go "Huh?" or "What?" or "Eh?" or anything basely unfamiliar, my fault! The song belongs to Incubus! I love you, M*****!

(You know, everytime I write a disclaimer, I get an overwhelming urge to type "blah, blah, blah." But I must always praise Rowling. Always.

Dedicated to: Um… Myself. Yes, me. The egotistical, self-centered, self-indulgent, narcissistic freak. Me. Wee.

**__**

I Miss You

To see you when I wake up

Draco blinked his eyes open. Raising a hand against the powerful rays of the sun shining through the windows, he sat up, glanced at the sleeping figure beside him, and smiled.

__

Is a gift I didn't think could be real

He reached over and laid a hand on her bare shoulder, on her creamy skin, the warmth of which sent shivers throughout his body. Draco touched a stray lock of her chestnut hair, stroking it. Gently, teasingly, he tugged on it. "Wake up, Hermione…"

__

To know that you feel the same as I do

Hermione stretched and glanced up at him, smiling. Their eyes locked, and it was a pleasure beyond all else. Draco knew, just by looking at her smile, and by the way her hand reached up to touch his cheek, that she loved him too.

__

Is a three-fold Utopian dream

Warmth surged through his body, touching his lips and making him smile. "Good morning…" he whispered. She raised herself up, the bedspread wrapped around her body. "Did I ever tell you that I loved you?" Draco laughed. "Loved? Is that in the past tense?"

__

You do something to me

She laughed, too, and all morning hangovers and aches were dispelled with that laugh, just like that. Draco's heart jumped, and the smile on his lips remained there as he leaned down to kiss her.

__

That I can't explain

As his lips met hers in a gentle kiss, Draco's mind whirled with questions he had not time to answer. _How does she do this to me? How does one woman make my legs weak and my heart melt, with one touch, one kiss, one smile? She's a witch, and I don't mean literally… _Hermione pressed closer, and Draco decided, through his hazy mind, that the questions would have to wait.

__

So would I be out of line

Ten days later, Draco sat upon the same bed, head in hands. "Why the hell did she have to leave now? Bloody Potter just had to go and throw his birthday on the second week of our vacation…" Draco clutched his silken hair and shut his eyes.

__

If I said

I miss you

"Hermione… come back!" Draco collapsed onto the bed, rolling over to stare at the picture hanging on the wall. "I miss you… with all my heart and soul." He whispered.

__

I see your picture

The Hermione in the picture winked and smiled coyly at Draco, who glared at her and rolled over again to face the pillows. This was even more painful. 

__

I smell your skin on the empty pillow next to mine

He could almost see her there, her hair spilling out in coils over the pillow, her cheeks and lips flushed pink… Draco closed his eyes, unbelieving in the fact that you could miss someone this much. 

__

You've only been gone ten days

"One and half weeks, Potter! You sodding git… no one has a birthday that long!" Draco angrily knocked away a grinning picture of Harry on Hermione's desk. "You better keep your paws off her…" He growled, staring out the window at the bright blue sky. 

__

But already I'm wasting away

"No, Hermione. I haven't been eating regularly. Sorry, darling. I'm pining for you." For the first time in weeks, Draco's eyes were sparkling. Hermione's figure stood in his room, hands on her hips, looking as solid as ever, but when she opened her mouth to speak, her voice was tinny and far away. 

"Draco! I'll be staying a bit more, but when I come back, I want complete word from your hose-elves that you ate regular meals. No use pining for me…" the figure smiled, fading away. "I'll be back. Soon."

__

I know I'll see you again

Draco stared at the spot where the figure had been. "Come back… please… now."

__

Whether far or soon

Dear Draco,

Ron has fallen ill, and I have to stay for a few days and take care of him. Please don't pout, I know you… Draco, he's one of my closest friends, and I hate to see him like this.

I promise I'll be back, as soon as Ron's nose turns back to normal again.

Love and kisses,

Hermione

__

But I need you to know

Dear Hermione,

I really don't care whether Weasley's nose stays magenta, or whether Potter had to celebrate his

birthday alone with a glass of wine… but all I know is, they're probably the two luckiest men in the world right now, because they've got you.

__

That I care

Hermione, I really want you back, mentally, emotionally and physically. Please, come home.

I miss you. Heart and Soul.

Draco.

__

And I miss you.


	9. Breathing

__

A/N: Ye ghodz! Yes, another one of my songfics that don't really have a decent plot! Mwahahaha!!! *sigh*

This one's D/H again, as may faithful readers know that I love this pairing to death. Oh well, read and review, okay?

à Dedicated to all the people out there, who, when you fall in love, you fall hard and fast and painfully… and when you hit the bottom, you think "Oh damn… I'll never get up again." Pure obsession. Luv yah! ß 

Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling, but all angst is mine. Blaugh! 

Oh yeah, the song, "Breathing" belongs to the band Lifehouse.

****

*~*~* Breathing *~*~*

I'm finding my way back to sanity again

Though I don't really know what

I'm going to do when I get there

"I can't take this anymore!" As Draco abruptly stood up from the Slytherin table, his clean plate clattered to the floor, making heads turn. Usually, Draco Malfoy enjoyed turning heads… but on a particular morning, when his obsession overflows, there's only one head he'd love to see turning in his direction.

__

Take a breath and hold on tight

Hermione Granger's.

Spin around one more time

Draco clutched his robes around him and stalked out of the Great Hall, abandoning his fellow Slytherins in the middle of their breakfast. _"Damn them… they'll never understand." _he thought as he passed a portrait of Salazar Slytherin… _"no one will…" _

And gracefully fall back to the arms of grace

But sooner or later… he had to face them again. He had to face _her _again. He walked alone, now, to the dungeons, to his public pride and private humiliation.

__

I am hanging on every word you say

He sat at the his desk, beside his bubbling cauldron, pretending to chop his acacia leaves, but really straining to catch the conversation going on across the room. Draco ran his fingers through his silver-blond hair, and sneaked a glance at the three Gryffindors arguing in a friendly way three desks away.

"Oh no! Harry, did you add the cattails?!"

"Uhm…yes?"

"Harry! You shouldn't have! Ron, get me some of-"

But though Draco was listening intently, he never found out what Ron was supposed to get, because at that moment, another voice rang out, cutting across the one he so wanted to hear.

"Potter! Weasley! Granger! Break it up! Potter, stay there. Weasley, beside Crabbe. Granger…" Snape's eyes swept over the room… and landed on his favorite pupil, who was feigning indifference, with his heart pounding wildly.

"Granger, beside Mister Malfoy."

And even if you don't want to speak tonight

Draco waited until she had finished banging her ingredients on his table, a small annoying smirk on his otherwise handsome face. "So, Granger, finished with the temper tantrum already? Because if you are, I'd like it if you added the next few elements into my Chortling Concoction for me… but don't get too close, I don't want any Mudblood microbes on me." _Damn… I wasn't supposed to say that._

Hermione turned to him, frowning. "You know, Malfoy? I would really appreciate it if you simply left me alone and went your own way, because one more smart-arse remark from you and I'll seal your mouth shut with a little Stapling Spell of mine." She turned her back on him and began to count newt eyes into her cauldron.

Draco simply shrugged. "Have it your way, Granger."

That's alright, alright with me

Yes, Draco played it cool. Yes, he played it suave. But who would have guessed, that the tall, pale Slytherin sitting casually at the table and tossing ingredients carelessly at his cauldron was really in inner turmoil.

__

'Cause I want nothing more than to sit

Outside heaven's door and listen to you breathing

Every time she looked his way, every time she tucked her hair behind her ear… every time she told him off for adding the wrong kind of toad legs, his heart would race, and he had to fight very hard to keep from staring at her. Instead, he's reply scornfully, adding a glare or two for effect.

Potions ended too soon. As he aimlessly magicked his mortar and pestle into his bag, he let his mind wander… let his mind follow that Gryffindor girl walking out of the classroom door. _If only she had stayed. The simple sound of her laugh works better on me than a thousand Cheering Charms… _

Draco strolled out of the classroom, discreetly looking around for her… but the corridors were empty, and shaking his head, he walked off to Transfiguration. 

__

I'm looking past the shadows

Of my mind into the truth

Later that evening, Draco stared up at the dark sky, blinking furiously at the stars studding it like sequins on black velvet. _I bloody hate these Astronomy classes! Wake you up in the middle of the bloody night and drag out onto this freezing tower… _He looked away from the telescope and glared around the tower. They were with the Ravenclaws, and that didn't help Draco's bad mood at all. "_Bloody smart-arses." _he spoke under his breath, adjusting his telescope, muttering against the clever Ravenclaws, who were already scribbling the answers to the difficult questiong Professor Sinsitra had assigned them.

_Granger would have aced this friggin' exam… wish she was here._

And I'm trying to identify

The voices in my head

Every day, he'd face her, put on a sneer, toss insinuating remarks in her direction… but relish every word she spoke to him, even if it was simply "Go away, Malfoy." 

He savored every moment, every chance he got to get close to her, he took in her scent when she brushed past him in the crowded corridors, and in the rare times she was partnered with him for a project, he'd be in such a good mood that he would sometimes even forget to taunt Potter.

But she still didn't acknowledge his presence… more than a cold stare, or an occasional rebuttal to his jeers.

God, which one's you?

Let me feel one more time

What it feels like to feel

Draco had times of bleakness, too. Times when he's skip classes and lock himself in his dormitory, his head in his hands, wondering blankly about the whirl of emotions bubbling inside his heart.

__

He hated her… she was Potter's best friend… and a Mudblood, to top it all off.

No, he loved her, she was everything he ever needed and wanted.

No… he was simply obsessed.

All the emotions… these were days Draco wished fervently he couldn't feel anything anymore… this obsession was driving him mad.

And break these calluses off me

One more time

So many things were holding him back… his family name, his father, his reputation… _his pride. _

If only…

__

'Cause I am hanging on every word you say

He was bound, by the family honor, and by himself, but for now…

For now, he will content himself with the fragments of sentences he overheard from her.

Even when they were cold and bitter, directed towards _him. _

And even if you don't want to speak tonight

That's alright, alright with me

He would content himself with the wizard photograph he had bullied off a younger Gryffindor… Golin Breevey, was it? In it was Hermione, her face smiling and warm… an expression she would probably never direct towards Draco. 

'Cause I want nothing more than to sit

Outside your door and listen to you breathing

He was satisfied, for a while, by simply admiring every single aspect of her. Never was Draco so obsessed, that he would much rather sit at the library and watch her over a book, than go outside and practice Quidditch. Yes, he would risk his House pride… all for a Gryffindor.

Is where I want to be

Potter didn't suspect him. Neither did that Weasley. Come to think of it, why would anyone suspect him? Hermione Granger was the last person in earth, heaven and hell that Draco would fall madly, deeply in love with. It just shouldn't be in their destiny…

I don't want a thing from you

But destiny has a funny way of working things out at times…

Bet you're tired of me waiting

For the scraps to fall

Off your table to the ground

Hermione didn't know. Draco had absolutely no idea what her reaction might be if she ever found out. Late at night, he'd dream that he would finally be able to confess it all… and she would fall into his arms… 

I just want to be here now

But it just wasn't so.

__

'Cause I am hanging on every word you say

Day in and day out… stare at her discreetly from across the room… and when she looks at you, glare right at her. When she walks past you, try to touch her, make it look like you simply brushed past her.

And even if you don't want to speak tonight

That's alright, alright with me

When she speaks to anyone, savor every word, the tone of her voice, the content of her speech… anything.

'Cause I want nothing more than to sit

Outside heaven's door and listen to you breathing

Take in every chance, everytime she's near you, breathe her in, watch how that curl on the side of her forehead falls gracefully down, take in her very essence…

Because you know, that no matter how hard you try, she'll never be this close ever again.

__

Is where I want to be

Draco's private hell lives on, catching every word that passes from her lips, admiring the way she walks, talks, breathes…

Every breath she took in, was Draco's own survival… for Draco lived for her, and for her alone.

I am hanging on every word you say

And even if you don't want to speak tonight

That's alright, alright with me

'Cause I want nothing more than to sit

Outside heaven's door and listen to you breathing

Is where I want to be


	10. You Get Me

__

AN: Hmm… writing a songfic to a song you don't even know the tune to. Hehe, that's what I did with On My Father's Wings, but then I downloaded the MIDI and I realized what a beautiful tune it was too. Oh, well… people seemed to like my one and only R/Hr songfic, so I might dabble in that… *ducks the pie CharmedHpfanatic threw in her direction* But, D/Hr forever! *sighs with relief*

Disclaimer: All characters belong to JK Rowling. So too, with anything recognizable. The song "You Get Me" was written and performed by Michelle Branch, so it's obvious she owns it. Anything else you might want to blame, flame, praise, kill somebody about, it's the little button down there that lets you do that to me.

Dedicated to: Sibby, the oh-so-nice reviewer of Dragon's Song who suggested I do this song. Thanks Sibby! Hey, I'm always up for suggestions on the next D/Hr song, and you'll all be thanked soon enough!

****

You Get Me

So I'm a little left of center

Draco glanced at himself in the mirror and smiled, pleased with what he saw. A tall, slender young man, with silken hair the shade of moonshine, shrewd and clever eyes of dusky grey, skin as pale as the morning to come. (_AN: Ah… that felt good!) _Draco turned aside, inspecting every inch of himself from top to toe.

"Handsome… where you off to?" his mirror purred silkily. Draco laughed. "Nowhere special, just out, around the grounds or so."

__

So I'm a little out of tune

However, as Draco swept out of the Manor and began to peruse the grounds, he knew, deep inside, however handsome, clever or charming he was, he would never really be understood.

__

Some say I'm paranormal

He knew what they whispered about him in Hogwarts. About how could Pansy fall in love with such a … _conceited_ boy?! No wonder Crabbe and Goyle are his only friends, they're too thick to realize how overbearing Draco Malfoy is! 

_And so on, and so forth… _Draco thought bitterly, as he crunched through the fallen leaves.

__

So I just bend their spoon

But of course this "reputation" of his had its silver lining. People were respectful to him, well, at least to his face. He had his pick of the girls, knowing quite well that they were scared of him. He was a Malfoy, heir to one of the largest fortunes in the wizarding world… and no one was going to stand in his way.

__

Who wants to be ordinary

In a crazy, mixed-up world?

Miles away, in a cozy bungalow that was nothing like the stately Malfoy Manor, Hermione Granger sat in _her _modest garden and thought about him. 

Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger. Possibly the most controversial and unusual couple Hogwarts had ever known. Hermione laughed quietly. But they were in love. No questions asked. And they had enjoyed the quirks their relationship had, laughing to themselves about shocked looks on everybody's faces when they held hands down the corridor.

__

I don't care what they're sayin'

As long as I'm your girl

"Of course, there's always the bad side." Hermione bent over and whispered to a flourishing pansy beside her bench. Pansy Parkinson took it upon herself to be the official gossip-spreader, ad the moment she saw Draco kiss Hermione down in the Slytherin dungeon, her shrill voice had been on the hyper mode. 

_Harry and Ron aren't taking it all that well either. _Hermione thought, watering the rosebush by her front door. _But they'll learn… _She straightened up, repeating it as if to assure herself. "They'll accept him."

__

Hey, you're on my side

And they, they just roll their eyes

Draco ran a finger lightly over the gnarled trunk of a Beam Bush, and smiled as it hummed and lit up in the most glorious colors imaginable. His father had disapproved of the bushes being planted on Malfoy ground, but his mother had lobbied for them with Draco, and they had won him over. 

_However, I doubt Mother will be able to help me confront Dad about Hermione… she'll probably beat him to throwing me out of the house. _Draco's smile became grim. _No one understands. _

__

You get me

When no one understands

Hermione sat at the dinner table with her parents, wondering how best to explain her new boyfriend to them. _He's absolutely wonderful! Kind, charming, intelligent… only problem is, his dad blows up Muggles for a living._

She sighed and pushed her peas to the side of her plate. Harry and Ron didn't understand either.

__

You come and take the chance, baby

You get me

However, she smiled when she thought back to Draco. _He risked everything the day he fell in love with me. His family pride, his honor, his life. _She slid her hand over the cold glass of water. "I miss him…" she whispered.

__

You look inside my wild mind

Never knowing what you'll find

Still you want me all the time

Draco sat in the cold dark, the Beam Bush glowing faintly behind him. He spoke out loud for the pleasure of seeing his words in the frosty air. "She understands me… one in a million." He grinned. "So just how did I fall in love?" 

He held up a black-gloved hand, ticking it off on his fingers. "She really, _really _knows me. She doesn't care about what they say about us. She and I are so alike. And plus…" Draco aimlessly leaned back against the Bush. "She loves me. And I love her too…"

__

Yeah, you do

'Cause you get me

Hey, you are on my side

They, they just roll their eyes

Hermione sat at her desk, staring down at her blank diary, wondering exactly how to get Draco across. _Dear Diary, Of course you remember Draco Malfoy from earlier entries. He's always played a part in my life, as the arrogant, self-centered fool… but times change, Diary, and wrong impressions can always turn out for the better… _

The night wore on, and Hermione continued to write, finally being able to let her emotions out without fear of being laughed at or teased.

_And you see, Diary… he really understands me. It's pretty hard to do that, since I can be such a moody kind of person, but Draco knows me inside and out… and who knows? He loves me too._

Hermione smiled and laid down her quill. Closing the curtains, she went to bed.

__

'Cause you get me

When nobody understands

You come and take the chance, baby

You get me

Draco stared up at the moon, floating across the sky, the color of his skin. He closed his eyes. "She must be asleep by now." He opened his eyes again and began to count the stars, labeling each as a reason why Hermione shouldn't love him.

"My father would kill her!"

"She's risking her own life, not to mention her family's."

"She couldn't trust me just soon enough…"

Suddenly Draco stopped. He shook his head, as if to rid himself of evil thoughts. He then looked up and began to count again, this time, labeling each as a reason why he loved Hermione.

__

When none of the pieces fit

You make sense of it

You get me

He smiled as he remembered how he had fallen in love. It was slow, tentative, unsure. And that was what made it all better. "I owe Potter for that study group." He joined it out of spite, and at Professor Dumbledore's insistence. 

Draco had always been rather impressed with Hermione's cleverness, but the study group brought it all out, and he just couldn't help being struck with the way she worked out problems. 

Over bubbling beakers and thick tomes, they saw sides of each other they had never seen, or cared to notice before. And they loved every minute of it.

"I run to her when I need help. When I've got a problem, personal, emotional, she sorts it out for me…" Draco looked up and resumed his counting.

__

You look inside my wild mind

Never knowing what you'll find

And still I want you all the time

"She just sees through all my hang-ups"

"I love her."

"She understands my bad moods."

"She's a simple, fun-loving kind of girl."

"I love her."

"I love her."

"I love her."

__

'Cause you get me


	11. Angel

AN: Sadness.

Disclaimer: Characters and everything recognizable from the Harry Potter books belong to J.K. Rowling. The song "Angel" belongs to the wonderfully melancholic Sarah McLachlan. I just love this song… Everything else you don't recognize, or don't like, is probably mine. You can go blame, flame, praise, flay me by clicking on that button down there… yes, down there… just keep scrolling… you can't miss it! And don't forget to read what's in between!

Dedicated to: Whoever reviews. Here's your daily dose of Archangela Angst. 

**** __

Angel

Spend all your time waiting

She was numb. Yes, that was probably the best word for it. She could feel the people brushing past her, speaking in hushed voices, nodding at her. She could see the black clothes everywhere, even on her own body, that strange black fabric clinging to her skin. She could smell the scent of flowers, hanging over the small crowd like a ghost.

But she couldn't cry. She just couldn't cry. Everyone was looking at her as if expecting her to do the crying, because mostly everyone else was dry-eyed.

__

For that second chance

"Hermione…" She turned around at the mention of her name. There stood Harry, pale and uncomfortable in a black suit. He held out a tissue sheepishly. Hermione stared down at it, and took in with her shaking hands. Then she tucked it into her bag, knowing very well that she didn't need it. Not yet, though. 

__

For the break that will make it okay

People were filing past her, patting her back, a kind word whispered, or simply a sad expression. Hermione nodded back, but the numbness remained. _I don't like this… I should be crying. Weeping. Wailing. Shaving my head, painting my body with ashes… _Hermione stared down at her black-gloved hands. 

They all wanted to make her feel better, but nothing worked. _Of course nothing will work… _Hermione thought bitterly. _He's dead. And nothing going to save me now… _

She pulled off her gloves to reveal the slender gold ring on her finger. She touched it, and felt something prickle at the back of her eyes.

__

There's always some reason

To feel not good enough

"My ring…" she whispered. 

The hardest thing to understand was that, just two weeks ago, the very same man who had proposed to her, was now lying in that coffin, about to be shoved painfully out of her life forevermore.

__

And it's hard at the end of the day

Hermione bent over, suddenly trying to keep the tears from coming. But come they did, and they slid down her pale cheeks in rivulets of warmth, shocking against the cold weather.

__

I need some distraction

She screwed her eyes shut, sobbing silently, trying to think of something… _anything _to distract her, to stop her from thinking about how he died, how he ended up in that cold box of wood… _Anything… _she pleaded, and as her mind darted back to the day he proposed, she clapped a hand over her mouth to stop from crying out loud.

__

Oh, beautiful relief

Let memories seep from my veins

They were sitting by the Hogwarts lake, both taking a break off from teaching. The moon hung over the lake, the color of his skin, bringing a smile to her face as she leaned against his shoulder and watched the fireflies. 

"Do you believe in catching dreams?" she whispered. He looked down at her and smiled. "Why not? It sounds like an interesting idea…" He leaned back into the tree and grinned at her. "Tell me about it." 

Hermione looked up at the fireflies creating patterns of brilliance in the dusky dark. "Fireflies are dreams, beautiful dreams that you would wait all your life to catch. If you ever caught a firefly, you should always let it go, because some poor soul will never be able to dream again. However, the firefly you caught, if you let it go, it will leave behind a dream for you, the dream that you always had, the dream you know will never come true…"

She smiled at him. "Now, _you _tell me, was that stupid?" He reached out with a pale, slender hand and touched her lips. "No, it wasn't."

He removed his hand from her lips and reached up into the dark. When he brought his fist back down, it was glowing with an inner light. Hermione scrambled closer. "Oh, let it go!" she pleaded, grabbing his other hand.

He laughed softly and opened his wrist. Out fluttered not one, not two, but _three _fireflies. She stared up at them, and he whispered from beside her. "I… Love… You."

He held out his palm. "The fireflies left behind a dream for you. But this dream will come true, whether you like it or not…"

Hermione stared down at his open hand, hardly believing her eyes.

__

Let me be empty

And weightless and maybe

"Oh, Draco…" she whispered. Glinting in the soft glow of the fireflies was a beautiful gold wedding ring. 

__

I'll find some peace tonight

She buried her head in her hands, ignoring the way people began to watch her. Ignoring her hands, which were becoming colder by the minute without her gloves on. Ignoring the way Harry and Ron suddenly rushed to her side.

All she wanted was Draco. Alive, and standing beside her, a smile on his lips.

__

In the arms of an angel

She wanted him back, with his warm smile and open arms. She wanted him back, his moods, his little tantrums, their little quarrels that always ended with a kiss. 

_No… _Hermione felt Ron's hand uneasily drop onto her shoulder, trying to offer comfort that would not come, whatever he did. _I don't' want him to come back… I want to follow him wherever he went._

"Hermione." She glanced up, and Harry nodded at her, then looked up at the cold, gray sky. "It's snowing."

__

Fly away from here

The tiniest flake of heaven-sent frost floated down and rested on Hermione cheek, bitter cold. The minister was reading something, Hermione was only vaguely aware of that. She just continued to watch the snow drifting down, one thought in her mind. _Draco loved the snow… _

From this dark, cold hotel room

And the endlessness that you fear

You are pulled from the wreckage

Of your silent reverie

Hermione held out a bare palm for the snowflakes, tears still standing in her eyes. She wanted nothing more than to die that very moment, to be taken up to the place where Draco sat and waited for her. _Yes… he's waiting for me… He'll wait for the day I die, and so will I. _The delicate, feathery snow came drifting down slowly, but steadily.

__

You're in the arms of the angel

May you find some comfort here

Suddenly a bright flash of color darted in front of Hermione's eyes, and she reeled back, surprised. A beautiful hummingbird, a tiny painting, hovered in front of her. "What's this? There aren't any hummingbirds in winter… In fact…" Hermione tried to smile. "I don't think there are even any hummingbirds here in England…" 

Ron watched the tiny bird with a strange expression on his face, then he bent down to Hermione. "That's no ordinary bird, Hermione…" He blushed, as if revealing a well-kept secret. "My mum used to tell me that a hummingbird at a funeral would be an angel, coming to help the soul on its way to heaven." 

Hermione looked back at the tiny feathered jewel, eyes sparkling. "Will you take me too? Please…" she whispered wistfully.

__

So tired of the straight line

As if in reply, the bird flew off. Hermione glanced down and saw the sleek, polished coffin, and the bouquet of beautiful white roses on top. It was all she needed to begin her silent pain again. 

__

And everywhere you turn

There are vultures and thieves at your back

The storm keeps on twisting

Keep on building the lies

That you make up for all that you lack

"I'm never going to see him again…"

"Who's going to protect me now?"

"Who's going to wake me up each morning and present me the day on a silver platter?"

_"Who's going to love me?"_

Don't make no difference

Escaping one last time

Dull thuds signaled the throwing in of the dirt. Someone pressed a heavy, cold lump of mud in Hermione's hand, and she felt it as her heart, heavy, cold and lifeless. She walked towards the edge, feet taking her somewhere she didn't want to be. 

She held out her hand, and looked down. People had also thrown in flowers, and they completely covered the coffin, making it like a pit of beautiful flowers, in which she could jump into, and fall asleep forever… 

_Dirt and flowers… how ironic… _she thought, and her numb fingers let go of the clump of dirt, and it fell… and fell… and shattered, taking her hopes and dreams with it.

__

It's easier to believe

She felt Harry's hand support her, but there was nothing to believe in that warm, trusting hand. She wanted Draco back. She wanted him to stand beside her and take her in his arms, make her eyes shine, and tell her that everything was a joke.

__

In this sweet madness

Hermione felt as if there was something expected from her. As if the pale, silent crowd wanted her to wail her heart out, to tear her hair, to paint herself with ashes. As if they wanted her to go mad.

And as she took in a breath of the cold, snow-scented air, she felt like she wanted to go mad as well. 

__

Or this glorious sadness

That brings me to my knees

She shuddered at the pain washing over her, calling forward her tears. This was simply too much to bear. She was going to cave, to break, to give in to the incredible agony. And the strange thing was that she actually wanted it.

__

In the arms of an angel

Fly away from here

"It's okay, Hermione… he's at peace now." Hollow, empty words, spoken by one who simply wanted to see no more tears. "He's fine, no pain, no sadness… please, _believe in him…" _

Hermione believed in Draco. Yes, she believed in him with all her heart and soul. But she still believed he was alive, and calling to her through icy tears from heaven.

__

From this dark, cold hotel room

"His father can't hurt him anymore." A stab in the heart. Hermione gasped, the chilly air knifing her lungs. Tears traced a clear path on her pale cheeks, bringing in scant color. 

__

And the endlessness that you fear

The snow floated down, and the congregation began to move towards the sheltered area, leaving the coffin to magically lower itself into the ground at the disappearance of the last mourner.

But Hermione stood her ground.

__

You are pulled from the wreckage

Of your silent reverie

She stood there, arms out to the sky, embracing the tears of one silver-haired, dusky-eyed angel from way up high, an angel who once loved her, an angel who loved her still.

__

You're in the arms of an angel

Hermione stood there, the snow falling softly around her, oblivious to the stares of the crowd. She now had an angel, and wherever she went, he was going to watch over her… loving her for the rest of her life.

__

May you find some comfort here

Through the soft snow flew a bright jewel of hope. A hummingbird hovered beside Hermione, waiting… waiting…

__

May you find some comfort here.


	12. What If

AN: Yay for Babyface, for writing this song! Yay for Chedes, for introducing this song to me! Yay for myself, for buying a CD with this song on it! Yay for M***** for making this song mean so much to me!

Disclaimer: Don't own characters, JK Rowling does. Don't own song, Babyface does. Do own plot. Do own anything else.

Dedicated to: *Jay*, who is nicknamed after Jay McCaslin of Sum 41. Note: that's not his real name, oooookey?

**__**

What If

I ran into a friend of yours the other day

"What do you want, Malfoy?" Parvati Patil frowned, hand on her hip. She had come to Hogsmeade to shop for Ron's birthday gift, not to run into old schoolmates. Annoying old schoolmates, that is. Draco raised an eyebrow coolly at her. "I want to talk to you." He stepped back, walking her into the Three Broomsticks. "May I buy you a drink?"

Parvati sighed… then nodded. _Ron will have to wait._

And I asked her how you've been

Over two bottles of butterbeer and a few minutes of silence, Draco proceeded to ask Parvati, in a pretty friendly way, why are you here, what are you doing, where are you going, how are you doing? And then, the inevitable question.

"How is Hermione?"

It was Parvati's turn to raise _her_ perfectly plucked eyebrow. She expected this question. After all, Draco _was _Hermione's ex-boyfriend.

__

She said "My girl is fine…"

"Oh, she's doing pretty well, ever since… the… since you…" Parvati waved her hand aimlessly, hinting at things of the past. Draco nodded. "Since we broke up." Parvati sighed, relieved. "Yes, since you broke up."

__

Just bought a house

"Where are you staying, Malfoy?" Parvati sipped her butterbeer. Draco frowned. "Call me Draco, please. I'm staying at my manor, where else?" Parvati laughed. "Oh, okay. Hermione got herself a nice little apartment here in Hogsmeade, and she absolutely loves having her own space. That's where we're celebrating Ron's birthday tomorrow and…"

__

Got a job

"Her own job, I mean, fully-trained Auror!" Parvati was getting warmer by the minute, and Draco let her talk, ignoring the dull ache in his heart. _So she's getting along fine without me… doesn't she know what she did to me? _

__

Real good man

"And well, maybe her space isn't really her own…" Parvati trailed off, eyeing Draco doubtfully. Draco started. "What do you mean?" Parvati shrugged, casually dropping the news that broke Draco's heart in a shattering of pain. "Well, she _is _living with Harry and all…"

__

I told her that I was glad for you

That's wonderful

Draco tried to hide the hurt, and through years of practice, succeeded extremely well. He smiled to cover up the sadness, and he straightened up to hide the hurt, and he placed the twinkle in his eyes to stop the tears. "Potter? The media must be having a field day." He tried to laugh, but Parvati knew how he felt, and she tried to avoid sensitive ground.

However, Draco must like pain, for his next question was equally hard to answer truthfully.

__

But does she ever ask about me

"Does she ever ask about me? I mean, we still share friendships with certain people, _you, _for instance…" Behind Draco's eyes shone a broken hope, which made Parvati extremely uncomfortable.

__

She said

"She's happy with her life right now…"

Parvati took in a deep breath, wondering how to break it to this somewhat pathetic young man that the only woman he ever loved, the only woman he really loves, had forgotten to love him back. "Oh, Draco… Hermione's an extremely busy witch, and…'

Draco leaned back in his chair, avoiding her eyes. "Yes, I understand."

__

"Let her go, let her be."

"Draco…" Parvati was a sensitive woman, and she had sympathy and a soft heart, and she felt sorry for this young man, sitting on the broken pieces of a hope once real. "Let her go. Let her live her life, and go live yours. Maybe you were never meant for each other…"

__

And I told myself I would 

He held up a slender hand. "It's okay… I really didn't ask for sympathy. I just wanted to know how an… old friend is doing." Parvati knew better than to reply.

__

But something in my heart

Just would not let you go

They sat in silence for a moment, each lost in their own private lives… Parvati wondering what to wear tomorrow, and Draco wondering if he would ever be whole again.

__

I still want to know

He leaned forward, and Parvati snapped out of her reverie. "Yes?" He held her gaze in sad grey eyes. "Where do you think we went wrong?"

__

What if we were wrong about each other?

What if you were really made for me?

Parvati raised her hands helplessly. "I really don't know… please…" Draco stared down at the table top. "I hope Potter treats her well." Parvati heard this, and nodded vigorously. "Oh, yes! He does!'

__

What if we were supposed to be together?

Would that not mean anything?

What if that were supposed to be my house that you go home to everyday?

"They're really happy together, and he treats her as his best friend…" Parvati began to babble, but Draco shut her out. "Does she still love me?" He stared up at her, begging her for the truth, painful though it may be. Parvati closed her mouth, lost for words…

__

How can you be sure that things are better?

If you can't be sure you heart is still here with me…

Still wanting me.

"Is she really happy with him?" Draco twirled his empty bottle on the tabletop with graceful hands. Parvati shrugged helplessly. "I seriously don't know."

"Maybe she still loves me…" He whispered. Parvati was silent. 

__

Your friend asked me if there was someone special

In my life

That I was seeing

Parvati groped for something to fill in the uncomfortable silence. However, the question she found wasn't really in need of an answer. Or, it would elicit a pretty touchy answer. Whichever way, Parvati found herself asking the question. 

"So… do you have anyone special right now? Are you seeing anyone?"

Draco looked up at her, and Parvati shrank back in her seat. Oops.

__

I told her there was no one in particular

There's just I, myself, and me

"No… no one at all. I'm fine." Draco smiled. But deep down, he knew he wasn't fine, and he would never be fine.

__

I told her that I dream of you quite often

Draco traced a small circle on the tabletop with a lazy finger, avoiding Parvati's gaze. "I miss her. I still dream about her sometimes…" He suddenly stared up at her, as if realizing who he was talking to. "Never mind that…"

__

She just cut her eyes at me

She said

"You've got a home, you're very happy

So just stop your meddling."

Parvati frowned. "You have to get on with your life, Draco Malfoy! You can't keep following her around like a lost puppy forever…" Draco glared at her. "Love is the pits." he growled. Parvati stood up and began to gather her bags. "You should stop interfering with our lives, then. Just… get on with yours." She straightened up and looked at Draco.

"You're rich, handsome, charming and witty. Add some politeness and take away the pathetic lovesickness, and the girls would come swarming after you. Get on with your life, and leave Hermione to her own… promise me that." 

__

I told her that I would

I said things were cool, but I guess I was wrong

I still can't move on

Draco watched her leave, and after a few moments alone, he stood up as well, throwing a handful of Sickles down to pay for the butterbeers. As he walked out into the blazing sunshine, he knew that he could never let Hermione go.

And he knew exactly what to do to get her back.

__

~*~

"Happy birthday, Ron!" Cheers and laughter rang out from Hermione's apartment the next night, and lights shone, and four very happy people ate cake and drank butterbeer, talking and joking the night away. However, this was all interrupted by the arrival of a stranger in their midst.

"What the hell?! Malfoy! What are you doing here?" Harry spluttered. Ron spat out his butterbeer, and Draco stepped back, eyes cold. "What do you want, Malfoy?" Ron asked angrily. "Funny you should say that. That's exactly what your girlfriend asked me yesterday." Draco glanced at Parvati, who was sitting on the sofa, very still, very pale.

"What's going on here?" Hermione appeared at the doorway, wiping her hands on her dress. Draco whirled towards her. "Hermione…" he whispered. She stared at him.

Harry stood up abruptly, pulling Hermione to him. "Get out of here, Malfoy, before we make you." He drew out his wand and pointed it at Draco, who watched him calmly. Parvati squeaked, and Ron rushed over to her. 

Draco looked back at Hermione, their eyes met, and she stepped forward, face blank. "Harry, put down that wand. Draco… what is it?" She stared at him, almost pleadingly. "What do you want?" Draco stepped forward, and placed a hand on hers. "A word with you."

~*~

A few minutes later, Hermione found herself with Draco in the garden. She turned to him. "What is it? I don't really have all day, you know." Draco glanced at her, at that woman, illuminated by a single lantern, a thousand stars, and the light of his love, and he knew he could never let her walk away, especially into the arms of a certain Potter.

__

What if we were wrong about each other?

What if you were really made for me?

Hermione looked around her, suspicious of Draco. Suddenly… "Do you love him?"

She spun around to face him, and on his face was such a sweet, pathetic expression of sincere sadness, that she found herself telling the truth. 

"No."

__

What if we were supposed to be together?

Would that not mean anything?

Draco came forward, and Hermione did not draw back, a sure sign that she trusted him. "Why did you leave me, then?" he whispered, eyes dark as the sky above. She shrugged, hopeful he might say something more. "Maybe I was wrong."

__

What if that were supposed to be my house that you go home to everyday?

She glanced back towards the building, where Harry was probably getting suspicious and restless, sighed and opened her mouth to speak. However, Draco stopped her. "Are you happy here? As happy as you were with… me?" 

Hermione didn't answer.

__

How can you be sure that things are better?

If you can't be sure your heart is still here with me…

Still wanting me.

Draco took another step towards her, in his eyes a silent plea. "Hermione… answer me." He reached out to her, took her hand in his, and she didn't respond, her face turned away from him. "Tell me you still love me, and we can run away to our beautiful home in…"

__

Now that could be my car

That could be my house

"Venice is waiting for us, Hermione…" Draco took her face in his hands, a gentle gesture that Hermione had rarely seen from him. "We could be together once more, happy, blissful, peaceful… _Hermione…_" he moved closer, as if to kiss her.

But sharply, with one move that did not touch Draco, but instead, broke his heart, Hermione pulled away from him.

__

That could be my baby boy that you're nursing

"It just wouldn't be…" she whispered, voice weak, and full of tears. Draco touched her cheek, surprise etched into his eyes. "Why?" She turned away, clutching at her dress, tears sliding down her cheeks. 

"I'm pregnant."

It was all a dream, then. A beautiful dream, beautiful because it is something you can never have. Like a soap bubble, floating through your mind. Try to touch it, keep it, cradle it next to your heart, and it disappears, leaving behind nothing but the scent of something that could never be.

__

That could be the trash that I always take out

That could be the chair that I love to chill in

That could be my food at the table at the end of the day

Draco stood there, face in shadows. But when he spoke, his voice told Hermione everything she needed to know. "Potter's?" A slight tremble, a pathetic note, a tinge of wistful pain, a bittersweet touch of tenderness. Hermione nodded, not daring to turn to look at him.

A sigh, sad enough to break your heart. "I see…" He came up behind her, placing his hands gently on her shoulders, resting his chin on her hair, something he used to do… way before, it seemed like years back then.

"All I ever wanted was a normal life. Something sweet, with touches of elegance here and there, dinner by moonlight on the open sea, a night lit by candles, a bath of rose petals and wine… with the kind of love that runs through your veins like liquid fire, the kind of love to quicken your breath and brighten your eyes…" His voice dropped to a whisper, and the tears still slid down Hermione's pale cheeks. 

__

Hugs and kisses, all the love we make

"This kind of love. This love that surges through me when I touch your skin, breathe in your scent, run my fingers through your hair…" Draco closed his eyes, wishing nothing more that this moment to go on for eternity. "The problem is, I don't know if you feel it too."

__

What the hell do you expect me to say?

What if it's really supposed to be like this?

"I wish…" he murmured into her hair, his hand on her shoulder. "Yes…" she replied. "I wish." She turned around and faced him, the moonlight glinting off the tearstains on her face, rivers of moonshine. "But I just can't. Harry would be so…" She clutched her hand into a fist at her side, glancing up at the apartment building. "So _broken." _she finished.

__

What if you're really supposed to be with me?

Draco touched her, a light brushing on the hollow of her neck, drawing that slender finger down her body, between her breasts, onto her stomach, where only the slightest rounding began. "This could have been mine…" His eyes burned into hers with a sweet fire, and she stared defiantly, painfully back.

"I wish it was so."

__

What if we were wrong about each other?

"We were beautiful together, Hermione… weren't we?" He continued to sear his eyes into hers, and she held his gaze, a painful, white-hot thing. "A match unusual, yet a match that burned with passion." 

"Maybe I'm not the arrogant fool you remember from back then. Maybe you aren't that prissy bookworm I used to tease." He leaned forward, and Hermione drowned herself in his scent, the scent of starlight on a rushing river of pure water. 

"Maybe we still love each other."

"Maybe."

__

What if you were really made for me?

"I know we didn't seem like the most likely to hook up… Our days in Hogwarts proved that." Hermione listened to his breathing, slow, measured, sweet. His voice swirled around her, taking her in. "But we've _changed." _

__

What if we're supposed to be together?

"You and Potter are the dream couple, you know that…" A slight tang of bitterness laced Draco's voice, and his eyes narrowed slightly. "Voted _Most Likely to Hook Up _at the last Yule Ball of the year in Hogwarts, right?" He laughed dryly.

"But I love you. And… maybe, just maybe, you still love me too."

__

Would that not mean anything?

What if that were supposed to be my house that you go home to everyday?

Hermione stepped back. "No, Draco. No." She avoided his gaze, eyes firmly on the ground. "Harry loves me, I'm sure of that…" Draco snickered softly. "But do _you _love him? You said so yourself a while ago…"

"It does not matter what I did or did not say!" Hermione burst out, eyes gleaming angrily. "You do something to me… make my knees weak and my breath catch in my throat! You make tears well up in my eyes and my heart break slowly… you make me _believe." _she whispered, tears glittering like tiny stars in her eyes.

__

How can you be sure that things are better?

Draco watched her. He was afraid to go nearer, to touch her, to let this fragile soap bubble disappear. But he had no choice. "It's the baby, isn't it?" he asked, devoid of emotion. Hermione nodded tearfully, slowly. "Yes, it's the baby… Please, understand…"

Draco held up a hand. "I do. I love you, Hermione. That's easy enough to understand." Hermione choked softly, hand over her mouth. He drew closer, and pulled her to him. "And you love me. I can see it in the way you look at me, the way the tears shine in your eyes…" he touched her lips softly, eyes measure of his pain. "The way your heart beats."

Their faces were only inches away, and she closed her eyes for the kiss that never came. 

__

If you can't be sure your heart is still here with me…

When she opened them again, tormentingly disappointed, torn apart, Draco was gone. In a swirl of starlight and dusky shadows, and two eyes of gray that burned into her soul, he was gone.

__

Still wanting me.


	13. Bent

AN: Yay for Matchbox Twenty! Aw… drama class is ending in a week! I'm sad.

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

The song belongs to Matchbox Twenty who wrote and performed it.

Dedicated to: Schalke M., who helped me along my way… picking me up and dusting me off whenever I couldn't get up to walk. You're one helluva friend… and you still rawk.

**__**

Bent

If I fall along the way

Draco sat at his desk, face buried in his hands, shoulders trembling, eyes darkened by grief. "Why?" he whispered hoarsely, in a voice choked with tears. "Why did you go and leave me, Mummy?" 

At the plaintive cry for help, another woman walked over to him, placed her hands on his shoulders, and offered her as much as she could give. Draco looked up at her touch, and his eyes shone for the briefest of eternities. "Hermione…"

__

Pick me up and dust me off

"I need you now… my only other savior is gone." He touched her hand, and a wistful look in his dusky eyes tugged at Hermione's heartstrings. Hermione leaned closer, sliding her arms around Draco's neck. "It's okay…" she whispered, kissing him as she would a lost child… for that moment, that was exactly what Draco was.

__

If I get too tired to make it

"Mummy's gone…" he stared out of his window into the darkening sky, the one through which the black owl had borne the news of his mother's untimely death. He glanced up at Hermione again, and she was surprised to see a trace of despair in his expression.

"I'm so tired of it all, Hermione. It's like I just want to lie down and close my eyes, never to open them again. I just want to give up… to give in." Draco murmured, eyes gleaming sadly.

__

Be my breath so I can walk

Hermione touched him on the cheek, softly, gently. "I'm here, Draco. I'll always be here. I'll be your savior now."

__

If I need some other loving

"My mother was…" Draco chuckled dryly. "that. My mother." He pulled Hermione closer, their faces inches apart. "You're my lover."

__

Give me more than I can stand

Hermione touched a finger to his lips. "Exactly. I'll never fill in Narcissa's shoes as your lover, but I can work in many other ways." 

__

And when my smile gets old and faded

"My mother… _Mummy." _Draco's voice was choked and dry. "She protected me from Lucius, healed my wounds… she was…" His eyes darkened. "I'll never smile again." He vowed angrily.

__

Wait around, I'll smile again

Hermione felt an unexpected stab of worry. What she loved most about Draco was the drastic way his face changed when he smiled. It seemed as if a light glowed from within him, shining through his light and reaching into Hermione's soul as well.

"No… Draco. It will pass." she vowed just as vehemently.

__

Shouldn't be so complicated

"I'll be here for you… and we'll get through."

__

Just hold me and then

Just hold me again

Hermione, unable to bear the shared pain, pressed close to Draco, holding him tightly as if she could ever squeeze out all the grief he felt, as if she could ever forget the pain she had to bear seeing him this way.

__

Can you help me

I'm bent

Draco shut his eyes, trying to forget, trying to lose himself in the warmth Hermione tried to fill him with… all in vain. "I'm so hurt… " he murmured, balling his hands into loose fists.

__

I'm so scared

That I'll never get put back together

"I'm so scared… what about Lucius?" he held Hermione close, as if afraid to lose her too. But Hermione pulled away, stroked his cheek, in her eyes a look of comforting sadness. "Lucius won't find us." she promised him.

__

Keep breaking me in

And this is how we will end

With you and me

Bent

"I'm so imperfect, so flawed… so _broken." _Draco jerked away, staring down at his pale hands, eyes sharp. "Why love me? Why love me and risk all you have? All you are?" He stood up. "It's dangerous, Hermione." 

She reached out to him. "I know. And I don't care."

__

If I couldn't sleep, could you sleep?

"That's what I like about you… you're empathetic." Draco closed his eyes as Hermione's arms encircled his slender waist. "Your pain becomes mine…" Hermione whispered, her cheek against his back. "And there's so much to share. You're so… crushed." she continued to speak, matching every breath to his. 

__

Could you paint me better off?

Could you sympathize with my needs?

Draco sighed softly. He knew that Hermione was a very caring woman, one who felt what others did, one full of sympathy and sensitivity. Sometimes, he himself felt guilty at this, knowing that she felt pain whenever he did too.

__

I know you think I need a lot

"Hermione… I'm sorry. All I ever wanted was your happiness, and now, you're going through _this." _Draco covered her hands with his, squeezing softly. "I thought…" Hermione shushed him. "No, Draco. I'd gladly bear your pain, if it means enough to you."

Draco smiled. "Thank you."

__

I started out clean but I'm jaded

Just phoning it in

"I thought it would be just another relationship, no strings attached… simple sex." Hermione laughed at Draco's dry tone. "But there's just something about you… something that draws me in and doesn't let me go."

__

Just breaking the skin

Can you help me, I'm bent

"There's so much hate in me. Guilt, anger, arrogance, pride… name it, Draco Malfoy has it." He shuddered, and Hermione pressed closer, listening to his trembling voice. "I'm sorry you have to put up with all that."

__

I'm so scared that I'll never get put back together

"It's as if I'll never mend… as if I'll always this foolish and proud. As if no one can save me now." Another shudder racked his body. "Draco, please." Hermione swung around to face him. "Guilt, arrogance… you see those things in yourself, and they hurt, don't they?"

__

You're breaking me in

And this is how we will end

She caressed his smooth cheek, in her dark eyes a soft look of sweet sympathy. "You see yourself as a flawed, broken man." Hermione smiled sadly. "I see you as the man I love."

__

With you and me bent

Draco rested his hand on her shoulder, asking a question that needed no answer. "Do you really love me, Hermione? In spite of all… _this?" _Hermione's eyes twinkled, and she leaned forward and pressed her lips upon his.

"Do you really need an answer to that?"

__

Can you help me, I'm bent

I'm so scared that I'll never get put back together

"I love you in spite of your flaws. I love you in spite of the danger it brings. I love you simply because you're _you." _Hermione whispered, and Draco smiled, at last. 

__

Keep breaking me in and this is how we will end

With you and me

Bent


	14. The Hardest Day

AN: Omigawd… I love this song. 

Disclaimer: Anything recognizable from the Harry Potter books belongs to J.K. Rowling. This lovely song belongs to… eh? *shrugs* The Corrs and Alejandro Sanz performed it, so it's most likely the rights belong to either one of them.

Dedicated to: This certain young man, whom I'd love, but _can't. _And I'm pretty sure he likes me back. Oh well, I hope. 

**__**

Let Our Dreams Collide

One more day, one last look

Draco took her hands in his, watching her from under half-closed eyelids. She bowed her head, and Draco drew her closer, wanting to drown himself in her scent of raspberries. He ran his fingers through her soft hair, his heart aching painfully. Her fingers remained entwined around his other hand, the warmth, the sensation…

__

Before I leave it all behind

Draco knew there was to be no more of this… the lingering looks, the stolen kisses, the furtive smiles. No more secret trysts, no more star-gazing… no more Hermione. This, all this beautifully secretive bliss, would be gone by the rising of the sun.

__

And play the role that's meant for us

"Do you really have to?" she asked, her voice soft, pathetic and wistfully sad. A twinge of pain shot through Draco's chest, and he closed his eyes, saying in reply: "You know I have to." 

It was no secret that Draco was to be a Death-Eater. But his relationship with Hermione Granger was the most well-kept secret of his entire life… and it was the most beautiful as well. However, these two facts clashed with a striking of sparks bittersweet and painful.

"I'm a Death-Eater, Hermione… and you are Muggle-born." he touched her cheek softly, wiping away the lone tear that trickled down to her neck. "To love you is to kill you… you know the danger that you will be facing soon… if I let this all go on." 

He touched his lips softly to her forehead. "We're just not meant to be."

__

That we'd say goodbye

One more night by your side

"What are you saying, then?" Hermione looked up at him, and he could see her eyes fill with tears. "That this is the last time we'll ever be… like this?" Draco closed his eyes against the painful emotions welling up in his chest. "One last night, Hermione…"

__

Where our dreams collide

And all we have is everything…

Her soft voice echoed through the dusky room. "This is too beautiful to lose, Draco. You're too special to say goodbye to." Draco held her close. "I know. When I'm with you, I forget everything else. You change me… and don't you know that that is most probably the best deed of charity you could ever commit?"

__

And there's no pain

And there's no hurt

There's no wrong

It's all right

Holding her, he held everything in the world that mattered to him. _I could live like this… _Draco thought as Hermione's head rested on his chest. _Like this, pure happiness laced with a slight tang of danger and risk… something I've always loved. _

It was as if nothing else mattered. He couldn't care less if Voldemort walked into the room right then, as long as Hermione was with him, the world revolved around them… just the two of them.

__

If I promise to believe, would you believe?

"One… last… night…" Hermione whispered, and when Draco gently tipped her chin up, he saw the rivers of moonlight on her face. "Hermione… please, don't cry. Let's just forget everything… everything except us. The world exists for us, and nobody else. Tonight is the only night that will matter, and the sun is thousands of miles away… we can make this last forever…" he smiled sadly at her.

"Just don't cry."

__

That there's nowhere we'd rather be

Nowhere describes where we are

"I want this to go on forever… like an unbroken moment… hanging in the air like the scent of your perfume…" he whispered, stroking Hermione's hair as she sobbed quietly into his robes. "Draco… whatever happens…" she spoke in a voice filled with tears. "I'll never forget this… I'll never forget you, us… _together."_

I've no choice

I love you

"Can't we… please?" The plaintive tone in her voice sent a rare tear into Draco's eyes. He screwed his eyes shut, willing himself not to cry, not tonight… but his voice betrayed his efforts. "We can't, Hermione. The danger is just too much. And my father… he always gets his way."

__

Leave you

Love you

Wave goodbye

"Draco, please! Don't go…" she clutched at his robes with a helplessness terrible to behold. Draco held her by the wrists, firmly, gently, fixing her gaze with his. "I won't. Not yet. We've got this night ahead of us… just this one night." Hermione's tears slid down her face. "But… _I love you."_

And all I ever wanted was to stay 

And nothing in this world's gonna change

Draco stared at her, startled. Then, without a word, he pulled her into a hug, his eyes tightly shut against the sadness that threatened to overwhelm him. "I'd do anything to freeze this moment in time… anything. All I want is you, forever and ever…"

__

Never want to wake up from this night

Never want to leave this moment

"Let this last forever, Hermione… please." he murmured into her hair. "Impossible…" she whispered sadly. "But… you're the cleverest witch in Hogwarts. Isn't there some spell, _something _you can do?" his voice held a beautiful hint of desperation. He was imploring her to let this stay forever, he was confessing to her that he could do nothing… he was telling her that his love for her extended to the point of defying his father will, magic or not.

__

Waiting for you only, only you

There in the half-dark, with him in her arms, Hermione knew she would never forget him, never love another, never want to let him go… 

But there was the bare truth, as painful as a stab in the chest… she was going to lose him, whether she wanted to, or not. She was powerless.

__

Never gonna forget every single thing you do

"I'm going to be with you forever, Draco…" she whispered against his lips. "And you're going to be with me… your scent of stardust and of the wind, the touch of your hands… like butterfly kisses." She reached up and touched his lips with a gentle finger. "The way you taste, like a cool, rainy morning, when the sun can't be bothered to shine, and when the sweet, green scent of grass rises into the air like incense." 

She pushed back the silken blond hair that fell over his forehead. "The way you push your hair back unconsciously… Everything about you, Draco, will always be here. Right here." She took his hand, and pressed to her heart, in her eyes a sadness unspeakable.

__

When loving you is my finest hour

"Do you want to know what I am when I'm with you?" Draco asked her, wrapping his arms protectively around her slim waist, and pressing close to her. Hermione nodded quietly. Draco rested his chin on her hair, and began to speak in a far-away voice. "I'm kind… I curb my tongue, I forget my hate, my pride and my arrogance… I change… _I'm in love…_ and I wish I could always be like this."

__

Leaving you, the hardest day of my life

"The sun is beginning to rise. Our time's up, Hermione. I just wanted you to know…" he pulled away, and looked at her with tears in his silvery-grey eyes. "Walking away from you, having to pull away from your hand, having to leave all _this _behind…" his voice trembled, and Hermione reached for his hand. "This is the hardest thing I ever had to do."

__

The hardest day of my life

He looked at her sadly… then, in the few sweetest seconds of Hermione's life, he pulled her into a kiss. A kiss that said everything unspeakable, everything that the Malfoy pride, and Draco's fear, held back. It spoke of everything they could never have… the kisses that would never be, a peaceful future, a life together… 

Draco stepped back, avoiding her gaze for the fear of what he would see… the fear of what could happen if their eyes met one last time. _"Goodbye." _he whispered. And he Disapparated with the faintest of sounds.

But what you could almost hear was the breaking of their hearts. 

__

I still breathe, I still eat

Days, weeks, months passed, and Hermione carried on with her life. Only the briefest of emotion flickered over her face when Harry blithely informed her about Draco's acceptance into the Death Eater ranks. "Maybe the Aurors will kill him off for us…" Ron smiled gleefully. Hermione nodded. "He deserves it, then." And she buried herself in her book.

Like that, she buried herself in the rest of her life, trying to pretend that nothing went wrong, and that it was a simple affair, just a kiss here and there, and meetings in the darkened classrooms where they furtively eyed each other from above bubbling cauldrons.

But she couldn't deny it… Draco _was _her life.

__

And the sun shines just like it did yesterday

It seemed like nothing changed… besides Draco's disappearance from the halls of Hogwarts, of course. But no one mentioned it that much to her. After all, what did they know? _Nothing… _Hermione told herself. _They knew nothing… and they will never find out. _

__

But there's no warmth, there's no light

Yes, life went on in it's little cycle. But there was something missing… something that was once so beautiful, so secret… that the wheel missing a spoke could not roll as well anymore.

__

I feel empty inside

She tried to love again. Ron smiled and waved her away, admitting that he thought they could never learn how to get through a week without fighting. And he was already eyeing a certain Patil.

On the other hand, Harry had been waiting for her his whole life. Though his love was sweet and simple, it lacked the conviction, the strength… the pure beauty of Draco's.

__

But I never will regret a single day

Hermione would think back to those days, filled with laughing secrecy and hidden trysts, secrets whispered in the dark, and kisses disguised. And she would smile wistfully. Those were the days of old.

__

I know it isn't going to go away

What I'm feeling for you

Old may those days be, but the aching in her heart, and the tears that would spring to her eyes were as fresh as ever. The pain had not lessened, and neither had the love that brought it in the first place. She still loved him, and somehow, she knew he still loved her too.

__

I will always love you.


	15. Don't Love Me

AN: Yay… beautiful song. My songfic hardly does it justice.

Disclaimer: Isn't it pretty obvious by now that I don't own Harry Potter? I mean, why would I be posting this up here on _fanfiction_.net if I owned the rights to these wonderful characters. Gaaaad, if I did own HP, by now, Draco and Hermione would have found a realistic way to fall in love with each other. The song was performed by Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony… two very beautiful people.

Dedicated to: … 

__

Note: The lyrics encased in *asterisks* are Jennifer's part. ~These~ are Marc's part in the song.

~ I wander this earth,

searching for someone like me, 

just as flawed, just as hurt,

so that we may heal each other 

in our own sweet time. ~

- Original Poetry

****

Don't Love Me

~ Tell me why you're crying ~

Draco frowned slightly, reaching out with a slim hand to brush away the warm tears sliding down Hermione's cheek. "What's this?" he asked. Hermione smiled at him through her tears. "You wouldn't know, right? Malfoys never cry." Draco's gaze hardened, and he turned away. "Damn, you're right."

__

*Of happiness*

Hermione touched him on the shoulder gently. "Please… don't turn away from me. I'm here with you… and that's what matters." 

__

~ And why you drown ~

Draco rested his forehead against the cool glass of his window. "Why are you here? It's been…what? Five years, Hermione. Five bloody years since our… _thing, _and suddenly you show up at my doorstep, telling me you still love me." Hermione reached for his hand. "But I love you… do you still love me?."

Draco closed his dusky eyes. "Maybe I still do." 

__

*Of loneliness*

Hermione cradled his hand against her cheek, still damp from the joyful tears. "It's been so long… and my love for you hasn't changed. I've been so empty these past years…" She looked up at him with hopeful eyes. "Can we start over?"

__

~ Why do you choose me? ~

Draco sighed deeply, and pulled gently away from Hermione. "We were young, rash and foolish. Maybe it was just the hormones talking… we're older now, and we should start making the right decisions." He fixed her in a sharp gaze. "I'm just not right for you, and you aren't right for me."

__

*I want you so much*

Hermione stared at him. "I've loved you for five years, Draco… and I'm not about to stop now… you can't stop me from loving you." A hint of sadness entered her voice. "But I can't make you love me again, either"

__

*And because I am

So crazy, so stubborn*

"This is so… _wrong." _Draco told her. "A Malfoy and a Muggle-born… Hermione, it won't work out." Suddenly Hermione drew closer, her voice softening to a whisper. "You may be used to getting your way, Draco… but this is one time I'm going to prove you wrong. I've loved you, and I'm going to keep on loving you forever." 

Draco sighed. "Miss Granger, has anyone ever told you that you're extremely stubborn?" Hermione smiled. "Just you, so far."

__

*Don't doubt me anymore*

She slid her arms around his waist, looking up at him with warm brown eyes. "Trust me on this one, Draco… we can work this out." 

__

~ Though in the future

There will be obstacles ~

Draco stared down at her, but made no effort to move away from her embrace. "You forget…" he said slowly. "My bloodline, my heritage, my family pride… you forget."

__

*I'm not scared*

Hermione nodded knowingly. "However… _you _forget something, Draco. You forget how to love… and I'm here to help you remember." 

__

*I want to fall in love with you*

"You captivate me, Dragon… everything about you." She moved closer, and Draco's breathing grew slightly uneven. "Your mystery, your stubbornness, your pride… arrogance… and that soft side under it all." 

"You're the one spot of risk in my life, and I'm grateful for that."

__

~ Don't love me

Because you think I'm different ~

"Oh, is that it?" Draco's eyes flashed dangerously. "I'm risky? I'm arrogant? I'm proud? Is that the only reason you want me in your life… because you're tired of the goody-two-shoes that you're usually with? Potter and Weasley not dangerous enough for you?"

__

~ You don't love me

I understand

The lie that it would be ~

"Or is it just for the sex?" Draco spat, moving away from Hermione. "Honestly, Hermione, I know I'm terrific in bed and all that… but do you have to pretend to love me just so you can get into my pants?!" He glared at Hermione, who glared back with equal venom.

__

*If I didn't deserve your love

You could stop loving me now

But I'll stay another day*

"Oh… shut up!" Hermione stomped her foot childishly. "I'm not into this just for the sex…" she watched Draco mischievously. "But that _does _play a pretty big part…" He stared at her incredulously for a minute, then walked over to her and, this time, he was the one who embraced her.

__

~ Don't love me

Because I am lost ~

"Still, there are so many reasons why this is wrong…" his voice grew serious. "I'm so… flawed. You'll get dragged into the mess that is my life, and since I really do love you… I wouldn't want that." He stroked her hair tentatively. "You could turn back now… and forget everything. Carry on with your life…"

__

~ Because I changed the world

Because it is destiny

Because it is not possible ~

They were silent for a while, then Draco said quietly. "I would expect to hear alarm bells ringing in my ears. I would expect voices in my head telling me that everything we're doing right now is so wrong, so impossible…" He looked into her eyes. "But actually, all I can hear right now is the beating of our hearts in perfect rhythm."

__

*Don't love me

Because I am dying within a war of regrets*

Hermione laid a hand lightly on his shoulder. "Do you know how hard it was for me to get here? Do you know how hard it was to endure the death glares Harry and Ron gave me when I told them I was going to see you once more?" She rested her head against his chest. "Maybe I could have stopped at your door, turned around, caught the Knight Bus, and married…" she shrugged. "Harry, if he asked."

"I'm scared I might regret this… but my heart tells me that I won't."

__

*Don't love me

For worldly reasons*

Hermione glanced around the room they were in… the living-room of the coldly beautiful Malfoy Manor. "I have nothing to offer you, Draco. I'm not rich… all I have is my love for you." She smiled at him wistfully. "And I'm sure that will keep us together better than all the money in Gringotts can."

__

~ I don't know what to tell you

This is the truth ~

Draco smiled down at her. "Don't worry… I've got enough money to last us until we die." He broke off, looking over her shoulder, lost in his own thoughts. Slowly… "I don't know what to do with you, Hermione. I don't know what to do about us… with _this." _He gestured between the two of them. 

__

~ But in this lonely sky

Don't leave me ~

"I've been alone for the past five years." his voice grew softer. "Not physically… I could have any woman I wanted. But what if the only woman I wanted was you?" He held her to him, in his heart the impossible wish that he would never have to let go.

__

~ Don't listen to me

When I tell you not to love me ~

"I'm afraid of getting hurt again. I'm afraid of losing you once more… losing you like before." he whispered into her hair. "I want you to stay, but instead, I turn you away… please… understand me."

Hermione's fingers ran up the back of his neck. "I understand. All too well."

__

~ Don't love me

This I beg of you ~

*You know very well I can't

That it is useless…

I will always love you*

"You can't stop me from loving you the way I do… it's much too strong." she whispered.

__

~ Don't love me

Since I made you suffer

With this heart

That is filled with a thousand winters ~

"The question is, Hermione… _do you still want to love me? _After everything I've done to you and your friends? After all the grief I've put you through? After the knowledge that I'm cold inside?"

__

*Don't love me

Just to forget your dark days

I want you to love me

Just to love me*

Hermione slipped her hand in his. "I can't help but love you, Draco… but I ask of you…" her eyes found his, brown against grey. "Don't use me. Don't use me to forget your past, and what could lie in the future… I want to be loved back, Draco. A love genuine and real, is what I want."

__

~ You and I will fly

One with the other

We will always be together ~

"What you want, my Hermione, is what you shall have." Draco suddenly moved closer than they had ever been, covering her mouth with his, drowning themselves in a kiss to make them forget all other people they had ever kissed in the past. 

__

*This love is like the sun

That comes out from behind the torment*

Hermione broke the kiss, gasping for air, a smile on her bruised lips. "This is so…" she waved her hands, lost for words. Draco watched her, smiling. "Beautiful?" Hermione looked at him. "Exactly." And she pulled him to her for another kiss.

__

~ Don't love me. ~


	16. Nothing At All

AN: Ah, you asked for fluff? You got fluff! This doesn't deserve the Angst Genre one little cookie! *watches faithful readers keel over from a heart attack* Oops.

Disclaimer: Same old, same old.

Dedicated to: Nuada, who suggested that I try a bit of fluff, then back to the angsty-goodness. Hey, why not?! Thanks Nuada, and here's your fic! Enjoy, and dooon't forget the review!

**** __

Nothing At All

It's amazing

Draco smiled down at her… she was childishly hugging him around the waist. "Isn't this… amazing?" he whispered into the half-dark. Hermione looked up at him, a smile in her eyes. "What is?"

Draco gestured to the two of them, embracing in a dimly lit room. "This. You. Me… _we're amazing." _

__

How you can speak right to my heart

"What? The fact that we started out as blood enemies, and are now… madly in love with each other?" Hermione laughed softly. Draco shrugged. "Yes. That too… and… _this._" Hermione's eyes held the question, and it was Draco's turn to laugh. "We're so… _perfect _together. You complement me, and I complement you. Our relationship has gotten up to the point where we…" he paused, searching for a right word.

"Where we finish each other's sentences." Hermione smiled mischievously up at him. Draco stared at her. "Exactly." 

And bending down, captured her mouth in his.

__

Without saying a word

You can light up the dark

Hermione closed her eyes, succumbing to the sweet sensations of warmth, and softness, and tender touch. She slowly slid her hand up Draco's arm, slyly brushing her fingertips over his sensitive skin. Draco jumped, and broke the kiss. 

He stared down at her. "You kiss so well, I see sparks behind my eyelids." he whispered hoarsely. Hermione grinned again, her lips noticeably flushed. "Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?" Draco chuckled. "What do you think?"

__

Try as I may

I can never explain

What I hear when you don't say a thing

Draco slipped his arms around her waist from behind, resting his cheek on the top of Hermione's head. He grinned at their reflection in the smoky mirror. "We're so.. _beautiful _together." he whispered. "Like we were made for each other…" Hermione closed her eyes dreamily. "It's in our chemistry, Draco." she told him without opening her eyes.

He glanced quizzically at her. "Chemistry? I heard of that in Muggle Studies. Isn't that what Muggles take up in _their _learning academies?" Hermione laughed softly, opened her eyes, and reached up to slide a finger teasingly down his nose. "Actually… there's more to that word than what you think."

__

The smile on your face

Lets me know that you need me

Draco caught her hand in his, and watching her with a faint smile, pressed his lips against her palm. Turning it over, he kissed it again on her knuckles, and Hermione laughed. "I need you, Hermione. You're _my _laughter. Without you, I would never have laughed again… if not for the sake of tormenting others." The sweet words floated in the twilight air. 

__

There's a truth in your eyes

Saying you'll never leave me

Hermione reached out, slid the back of her hand down Draco's pale cheek, as smooth as marble. His eyes held hers for the most beautiful of eternities, and in those her eyes, he saw everything he wanted to believe in.

__

The touch of your hand

Says you'll catch me

Whenever I fall

She leaned against him, and he immediately embraced her, filling Hermione with a sense of security she only felt when she was in his arms. Hermione closed her eyes again, slightly sleepy. "If I could die right now… I'd be content, because I'm in your arms." Draco kissed her on her forehead. "If you died right now, I'd kill myself and follow you to heaven."

__

You say it best

When you say nothing at all

Then… "You don't have to, Draco. My heaven will have in there already." Draco smiled at the childish tone of voice Hermione unconsciously assumed. Sweet Silence took over then, sitting in a corner, yet filling the room with her presence. Discomfort was not there to accompany her, but Love was, and that made up for Conversation, who was Silence's both enemy, and complement.

__

All day long

I can hear people talking about love

The world outside their window continued to turn, squeaking and grinding and coughing and tumbling… but it stood still for one couple, locked in an embrace, in the middle of a darkened room.

__

But when you hold me near

You drown out the crowd

"You have that effect on me." Draco told Hermione, who opened her eyes sleepily and smiled up at him. "What effect?" she asked. Draco touched her lips, still bruised from kissing. "You make my heart race, my legs go weak… and you make me realize that my world revolves only one woman. _You." _

__

Try as they may, they can never define

What's being said between your heart and mine

Hermione chose not to answer. Instead, she stood on tiptoe to meet his lips once more.

__

The smile on your face

Lets me know that you need me

There's a truth in your eyes

Saying you'll never leave me

The touch of your hand says you'll catch me

Whenever I fall

"I don't need to tell you I love you, do I?" Draco asked Hermione. She looked into his eyes for a second, then smiled to herself. "Oh, no. Not at all. Your eyes say as much."

__

You say it best

When you say nothing at all


	17. Have You Ever

AN: Inspired again. 51 stories under my name?! This is so freaky… maybe I should start taking some down.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, and I don't own this song. Anything else? Thought so.

Dedicated to: No one. Just bored… I am.

**__**

Points of View and A Song

Sometimes… it's wrong to walk away

*Draco* _This is so wrong… I can't do this. _That was what was running through my mind as I took those final steps away from her. Those steps leading to an Apparation point, where I could Apparate right into my brand-new life. 

My life, brand-new. My life, ugly, and nothing like the wonderful one I left behind.

__

Though you think it's over

Knowing, there's so much more to say

I didn't even try to explain anything to her. I didn't tell her that this was under pain of death, I didn't tell her that there was no refusing the Dark Lord. I just… kissed her one last time, and walked away, without looking back.

I didn't tell her to take care, I didn't tell her I was sorry, I didn't tell her I was going to mss her…

Damnit, I didn't even tell her I loved her.

__

Suddenly, the moment's gone

That one last kiss… it was so perfect. I felt like I was invincible, like nothing could keep us apart. As always, my feelings were wrong. I wanted the kiss to go on forever, as if nothing in the world existed other than the pressure of her lips against mine, her breath in my face, and that glimpse of her closed eyelashes when our lips touched. 

I could live like that, forever in Hermione's embrace.

__

And all your dreams are upside-down

I wanted so much for the two of us. She was smart, wonderful, funny… everything I wanted. I played the dangerous side of her life… and she wanted me too. I lived for her touches, her kisses, those stolen half-glances in the corridors of Hogwarts.

Then, my father comes along. I hate him.

__

And you just want to change the way the world goes 'round.

Hermione, are you out there? Are you listening? Right now, I'd give anything to wipe away this ugly black mark on my arm. I'd give anything to be in your arms and drowning in your scent. I'd give absolutely anything just to be with you once more.

Please, trust me on this one. I love you.

__

Have you ever loved and lost somebody

Wished there was a chance to say I'm sorry

I'm so sorry, Hermione… sorry for kissing you, then walking away, as if I didn't care anymore. To tell you the truth, I cared. I cared so much that it hurt. I want you back.

__

Can't you see

That's the way I feel about you and me, baby

Have you ever felt your heart was breaking

Looking down the road you should be taking

You know who I'm supposed to marry? I'm lined up for Pansy Parkinson. That bitch. I'm sorry, Hermione. I just realized that my life has absolutely no direction anymore. It's just being pushed along by two evil men, one by the name of Lucius, and the other so evil that his name has long been corrupted.

I could have been sitting beside you right now, with my hands tangled in your hair, and your mouth against mine… but, no.

__

I should know

Because I loved and lost the day I let you go

Goodbye, Hermione. I just wanted you to know… our last kiss will always be with me.

__

Can't help

But think that this is wrong

*Hermione*She lay in bed, among the tangled sheets, breathing uneven, staring at Harry, who lay beside her, running his fingers lazily through her hair. She closed her eyes, and gently reached up, and removed his hand from her hair. _Draco used to do that… _she thought painfully, rolling over in bed and facing away from her husband. 

_I can't live like this anymore. Living with a man who used to be my best friend, and loving a man who's lost forever._ She shut her eyes tight, feeling the tears slide down her cheeks, damp with Harry's kisses.

__

We should be together

Harry's arms encircled her waist from behind, and she heard his worried voice whispering in her ear, sending shivers down her spine… just not the effect Draco had on her. Draco could make her knees give way, her heart stop… Harry just made her smile. Or cry, it depends.

__

Back in your arms where I belong

She tried her best to love Harry, but it never reached more than platonic friendship… and well, there was the sex. But that was just about it. Every now and then, with a stab of guilty pity, Hermione would remind herself that Harry loved her… but she just couldn't love him back.

_I'm supposed to be with Draco. He's supposed to be beside me in this bed, and he's supposed to be the one I'm kissing right now._

Hermione rolled over, and let Harry capture her mouth in his.

__

Now I've finally realized

That was forever that I've found

I'd give it all to change the way the world goes 'round

Hermione couldn't stop the tears. They came, just as they always did… wishing desperately she was kissing Draco and not Harry, but all in vain. She loved Draco… and she just couldn't love Harry… at least, never more than platonic friendship. And this hurt.

She had had everything when she was with Draco, and now, she had lost it all… simply trying to find some shattered piece of what was once there in the emerald eyes of another.

__

Tell me, have you ever loved and lost somebody

Wished there was a chance to say I'm sorry

She wanted Draco back. But deep down, Hermione knew that this was no excuse to do what she was doing right now… to find solace in another's arms. To lead someone on. To go on rebound. 

__

I'm sorry… Harry. she whispered through the dizzying sensation of the tears and the kiss.

__

Can't you see, that's the way I feel about you and me, baby

Have you ever felt your heart was breaking

Looking down the road you should be taking

"I should be kissing Draco… lying in his bed, with him in my arms, and his soft hair tickling my nose." she thought to herself, eyes screwed shut, pretending she was with Draco, and not Harry, pretending it was Draco's hands on her body… Draco's voice whispering all the sweet nothings into her ears.

__

I should know

Because I loved and lost

The day I let you go

That night, she lay in his arms, eyes shut in contented sleep. Harry was awake, however, listening to her breathing, waiting for the name that she always whispered in her sleep. In a small, heartbreaking, plaintive voice, Hermione reached out in her sleep, murmuring: "_Draco."_

I really wanna hear you say that you know just how it feels

*Harry*I touched her cheek, gently. She stirred in her sleep, Draco's name still on her lips. Something hurt. I stood up, covering her in the blanket, and pulling my own bathrobe around me. I walked downstairs, seeking solace.

I know she still loves him. I know that she will never love me the way she loves Draco. And I know, that she will never have him either.

__

To have it all and let it slip away

Can't you see

Maybe I should let her go. Let her wander away on her own, let her roam in search for her perfect, pale Prince Charming. She could live alone, she's wonderfully strong-willed…

I lean my forehead against the window through which the moonlight streamed in. I could feel the damp coldness in the sensitive skin of my scar. 

I should let Hermione go. The question was: _Could _I?

__

Even though the moment's gone

I'm still holding on somehow

Maybe she'll never love me. Maybe she'll just keep on pretending, and lying, and crying. I want her by my side forever… that's how much I love Hermione… but someone's already run off with her heart, and sadly, he's in no condition to give it back.

__

Wishing I could change the way the world goes round…

I want Hermione to be happy. But making her happy would result in _my _unhappiness. I may have a slight tinge of selfishness, but nothing to this extent. 

Maybe I could get Draco to return.

__

Have you ever loved and lost somebody

Hermione's here with me, in body, yes. But her heart? And her soul? They're out there, underneath the ink-black sky, in the hands of a certain Death Eater by the name of Draco Malfoy.

__

Wish there was a chance to say I'm sorry

She doesn't know that I know. She thinks I still think she loves me. I'm not stupid. I'm not blind. I can taste her tears, and I breathe her grief. Broken hearts have the scent of moonlight and stone.

__

Have you ever felt your heart was breaking

Looking down the road you should be taking

God, Hermione, I love you so much. I'm torn between you and my own selfishness. I want you to love me, and I want you to be happy. Is this so hard to ask? But one cannot have one with the other. I have never had my cake, and been able to eat it too.

__

I should know

Because I loved and lost the day I let you go

I'm sorry. Hermione, for forcing you to love me. Draco, for tearing you apart. Myself, for loving someone who could never love you back.


	18. Gunning Down Romance

AN: Whee! The Angster returns!

Disclaimer: *sigh* Same old, same old.

Dedicated to: Errie Wyvern, who, so very nicely, suggested this song for a bout of angst. :)

**__**

Gunning Down Romance

Love and other moments

Are just chemical reactions

In your brain

"This is stupid." Draco glared venomously at the smiling picture of a certain Hermione Granger. "This is so bloody stupid. I'm not supposed to fall in love." He set the picture on his desk, thinking of the way Hermione had smiled when she had pressed it into his hand, telling him that she will always be there if he needed a friend. 

Draco took in a deep breath. "This is just… the hormones. Love is induced by a flood of pheromones and other complex liquids produced by certain glands in the body at a certain point of puberty." But when he turned back to the picture, the tugging in his heart made him doubt himself even more.

__

And feelings of aggression

Are the absence of the love drug

In your veins

He turned to his bookshelf for solace. _Ironic, the fact that we fell in love over a book… _then he mentally shook himself. _No… we _reached a point of understanding _over a book. _

He took down a large copy of _Muggles and the Way They Kill Themselves Unknowingly. _

Draco, silvery eyes searching, flipped through the tome, finally stopping at a chapter labeled: _Drugs. _With a gleeful expression on his face, he skimmed down the lines, stopping at the word _Morphine. _

"That's what love is…" he whispered. "It induces a heavy state of euphoria… with deadly consequences. Best to avoid it at large."

__

Love come quickly

Because I feel my self-esteem caving in

"What if I just used her for that euphoria, with no strings attached? Enjoying her without love?" He glanced back at the picture sitting at his desk, with Hermione smiling at him, her eyes full of some sort of childlike innocence. 

Draco stopped smiling. "What if I can't?"

__

It's on the brink

"I can't love. Not again… not anymore." Draco clutched at the book on his lap, lost in agony. "I've never truly loved anyone, and… still, I end up getting hurt. What more if I actually dared to love?"

__

Love come quickly

Because I don't think I can keep this monster in

It's in my skin

When it came to love, a monster came alive inside Draco. It would feign loyalty and never-ending love, while simply using it's charms to feed its hunger for passion and lust. It couldn't love… it could only lie. 

Often, Draco wondered what it would be like to actually love someone, who loved him back… instead of using the person who loved him. But the monster always took over, sooner or later, and Draco had in his hands another broken heart to toss over his shoulder. 

__

Love and other socially acceptable emotions are morphine

They're morphine

He had loved before, or so, he liked to think. Draco had once fallen for Kaila Moon, he had admired everything about her, the way she walked, talked, smiled… He had actually been tolerable the day Kaila smiled at him… 

Yes, he had experienced that euphoria, but sadly, he had also come crashing down with the deadly consequences. You see, Kaila Moon was the daughter of another prestigious wizarding family, and the Moons and the Malfoys had been on cold shoulders since the 1600's. 

The euphoria had lasted for a short while, but soon, Draco found himself trying to forget how to love.

__

Cleverly concealing primal urges often felt but rarely seen

Draco sighed again, returning the book to the shelf. "It's just lust, then." he stared out his window. "I'm just lusting after Hermione. And every other girl I thought I had fallen in love with." He grinned. "And hell, lust is way better than love."

But as his eye fell upon the several letters Hermione had written him over the summer, he realized that though most of the girls he had "fallen in lust with" were shapely, and passionate, and buxom… Hermione was none of those. She was sweet, simple, smart, and friendly. Though she wasn't exactly underdeveloped, she wasn't busty either. 

Draco put his head in his hands… realizing that he couldn't blame it on the hormones anymore. He had to blame it on his heart.

__

Love I beg you

Lift me up into that privileged point of view

The world of two

"What do they see, that I don't? What do they see, that I can't?!" Draco whipped away the cover of the crystal ball he had sneaked from his mother's room. In the swirling mist could be seen two figures cuddling together in front of a warm fire. Draco glared down at the anonymous couple.

"What do lovers feel, that I can't? Even a dose of morphine, or lovedrug, will get me to this." he whispered angrily… sadly.

__

Love don't leave me

Because I console myself that Hallmark cards are true

I really do

"Doesn't all love end in disaster? Or aren't marriages forced? Or planned?" His mother had been in a promised wedding to Lucius, and Draco himself was promised to Pansy. It was no small wonder why he had never known true love.

__

I'm gunning down romance

"There's nothing to believe in. I can't love. Its… foolish and weak. Stupid and sappy." Draco covered up the crystal ball and went to stare forlornly out his window. He sighed. "Love is not for me."

__

It never did a thing for me

But heartache and misery

Ain't nothing but a tragedy

"All other attempts to love ended in some sort of… mess. I mean, look at Kaila." His voice softened with the hints of past wounds reopened. "Why learn to love again? I could simply go on with my emotionless relationships, and while fulfilling my physical needs… it won't cause me any emotional anguish. And well, when I turn of age, I get married to Pansy, and I get to lord over my own household"

He smirked. "Sounds good to me."

Draco looked up at the sight of a familiar brown owl landing at his windowsill. Still smirking at his "wise" decision, he detached the letter from its foot and sent the owl away.

--- Draco,

Hello! 

I know I haven't been writing lately… I've just been so busy studying for the upcoming school year. I hope you have been reading up on our new subjects as well, it's our last year at Hogwarts, and it's bound to be a tough one.

I just wanted to drop a letter, say hello, and hope I receive a reply. I like your letters, as they sound so matter-of-fact, but at the same time, still friendly.

I enjoy our correspondence, and I'm glad we became friends… well, you and Harry could still make the same effort.

Take care,

Hermione ---

__

Love,

Don't leave me

Draco's smirk faded away, to be replaced by a genuine smile. He looked up at the photograph of the smiling Hermione. "Damnit." he whispered. "How does she do it? How does she make me fall in love with her?"

__

I'm going to take these broken wings

And learn to fly

Draco walked over to this desk, and picked up the photo. Cradling it in his hands, he began a promise, a vow witnessed by no one, a vow none that eloquent, but a vow, nonetheless. A vow true to heart.

He vowed to love.

__

Learn to fly

"Oh, what the hell. I'll try." he smiled.

__

Learn to fly

---

Okay, what the heck happened there?! That was supposed to be all angsty and dark… *sigh* 

Maybe it's because I'm feeling fluffy today.


	19. Tale as Old As Time

AN: Yes, cliché, I know. But who cares? Surely you don't, or you wouldn't be reading this. And who knows… you might even like it. *grins* Then, you'd review. J 

Disclaimer: Most of this belongs to J.K. Rowling. Well, the unfamiliar nouns most likely belong to me. And I _highly _doubt that Rowling would be Draco/Hermione… so… The song was written by Howard Ashman, and set to music by Alan Menken. Wonderful men, I must say.

Dedicated to: Anyone who's ever found themselves falling in love with the person they had least expected to even get along with. (This fic's also self-dedicated, then.)

**__**

Unexpectedly

Hermione gritted her teeth and tried to keep in pace with Draco Malfoy, as he held her by the waist, and stepped gracefully out onto the dance floor. "Remind me why we're doing this again…" she hissed at him, avoiding the stares of their fellow classmates. "It's school duty." Draco replied blandly. "You're Head Girl, and I'm Head Boy. It's the Valentine's Ball, and we open it by dancing with each other. Plain and simple."

__

Tale as old as time

"How cliché can this get?" she whispered. Draco shrugged. "All we need now is that you look into my eyes and fall head over heels in love with me." he whispered back. Hermione bit back a heartless laugh. "Sure."

__

True as it can be

Draco shrugged again, still holding her, still dancing. "Hey, it can happen, you know." Hermione looked back at him, but he was seemingly staring up at the enchanted ceiling, at the twinkling stars. "What can?" 

"Looking into somebody's eyes and falling head over heels in love. No matter how much you were supposed to hate that person."

__

Barely even friends

"What do you mean, Draco?" Hermione asked, drawn by the wistfulness in his voice. Draco looked quite surprised at her use of his given name, then, just as suddenly, reverted back to his blank stare. "I mean what I say, _Granger. _It's happened to me."

Hermione pressed her lips together, stung by the bitterness in the way he spat out her last name.

"Why don't you call me by my first name?" she asked a while later, when couples began to fill the dance floor around them. Draco looked at her, then looked away once more. "I never had any reason to."

__

Then somebody bends

Unexpectedly

Something tugged inside Hermione. She glanced up at the young man, watching the faraway expression in his dusky eyes, and did something that surprised even herself.

Reaching up, with the gentlest of gestures, she brushed back his soft blond hair.

He stared at her incredulously. "What was that, may I ask?" For a second, as she blushed deeply, Hermione considered making up a most ridiculous excuse for that display of affection on a crowded dance floor. Instead…

"It was a reason for you to call me by my first name."

__

Just a little change

Draco smirked, just like the old Draco. But the words that came out of his mouth were most peculiar. "Okay then… _Hermione."_

Hermione smiled, satisfied with something, though she had no idea what. "I like that."

__

Small, to say the least

Suddenly, Pansy Parkinson waltzed clumsily by, being chaffeured by Malcolm Baddock. She sneered at Hermione. "Poor Drakie…" she simpered. "Having to soil his hands with that Mudblood slime…" and they danced away.

Hermione turned towards Draco, who was looking down at his highly expensive shoes. "Well?" Hermione frowned. Draco looked up at her. "Well what?"

"Why didn't you defend me?"

"Should I have?"

"Well, it's the least a friend can do for another friend."

"Are you my friend?"

__

Both a little scared

Hermione was taken aback by the simplicity of the question, but the way Draco posed it, with his eyes burning and sincere, was anything but simple. 

Finally, she ventured an answer that seemed the safest.

"You would be my friend… if I was yours."

__

Neither one prepared

It was Draco's turn to look surprised. He blinked, then smiled. A genuine smile. One that lit him up from the inside, and changed almost everything about him. It made his eyes twinkle and his cheeks color, and it made Hermione see him in an utterly different manner.

She saw him beautifully.

"That's good." he replied.

__

Ever just the same

Out of nowhere, Pansy appeared at Draco's elbow, tugging impatiently at his beautiful dress robes. "Let's dance, Drakie… dance with a pretty girl for once…" she grinned infuriatingly at Hermione, who glared back venomously.

__

Ever a surprise

Draco looked down at Hermione, then looked back at Pansy. "That's okay, Pansy. I'm already dancing with one." Pansy stared at him, her bright-red mouth hanging slightly open. Then, with a ruffle of her skirts, and a haughty sniff, she flounced off.

__

Ever as before

"You shouldn't have said that." Hermione said, sounding just like her old, bossy self. 

__

Ever just as sure

"Why not?" asked Draco, still watching her with unreadable silver eyes. Hermione, unaware of his gaze, was watching Pansy flit around the Slytherin tables. "She's going to spread poison about you… you and your silly remarks."

__

As the sun will rise

"Well, I _did _tell the truth. I _am _dancing with a pretty girl." Draco whispered, and there was no lack of conviction in his voice.

__

Tale as old as time

Tune as old as song

Hermione looked up at him, and met his gaze with her own. What she saw was not the old Draco. Not the Draco full of malice and lies, of taunts and an intent on evil… but a Draco who understood, a Draco who had changed…

With a shock that was by no means unpleasant… she realized that she was looking straight into the eyes of a Draco who loved her.

__

Bittersweet and strange

"Do you understand, Hermione?" he asked her, a smile dancing somewhere behind those beautiful eyes that said more than he could ever whisper into her ear. Hermione, lost for words, nodded.

He drew her close, ignoring the stares and the whispers that had begun to spread around the Great Hall, oblivious to the death glares Ron and Harry were shooting at them. 

"I told you… you _can _fall in love by looking into someone's eyes."

__

Finding you can change

Hermione sucked in her breath as she felt Draco's arms go around her, as his comforting warmth pressed against her, and as she lost herself in his scent of rain and stone and stardust.

"Draco… why?"

He drew back and looked at her. "Why what?" Hermione shrugged. "Why are you so different?" Draco stepped back, blinking slowly. "I… I'm sorry. I thought you would understand…" Stepping back, his eyes bright with emotion, he turned to leave, but Hermione impulsively reached out and caught the sleeve of his robe.

"Wait."

He looked back at her. Hermione, still gripping his sleeve, smiled at him, and pulled him close. This time, she was the one who put her arms around him. "Continue being different."

__

Learning you were wrong

She almost felt Draco smile against her cheek. "And I thought I was complete…" he murmured. Hermione continued to sway slowly to the music, avoiding the gazes of Harry and Ron, who were waving their arms wildly in her direction. "What do you mean?"

__

Certain as the sun

Rising in the east

"Never knew I was missing a piece of myself… until I found you. You were my missing piece, Hermione… you were my smile. You were my heart."

__

Tale as old as time

Song as old as rhyme

Hermione closed her eyes and smiled.

__

Beauty and the Beast


	20. There Is

AN: Like all of my songfics, I happened across this song, fell in love with it and decided to write around it. Enjoy. Oh, and there's a certain line in this song that just struck me... I put it in bold... just wanted to share.

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling. Box Car Racer. I'm awed by the both of them.

Dedicated to: I've been thinking of someone to put into this blank little space. Than I realized that I don't need to.

**There Is**

_this__ vacation's useless_

_these__ white pills aren't kind_

            Draco's lips were pressed together in a thin white line, and the bruise-colored bags under his eyes marked several nights of lost sleep.

            "I'm supposed to be running away from my problems. I'm supposed to be dancing barefoot on some sandy beach on the West Coast. I'm supposed to be _happy, damnit." he whispered as he counted the stars outside his bedroom window. To him, it seemed like they were becoming lesser as the nights dragged by._

            "I'm not supposed to be thinking of her."

_I've__ given a lot of thought on_

_this__ thirteen hour drive_

            There was nothing to do in his blank stone-walled room, no way to escape from the memories filling up his head and threatening to drown him in misery. No way out. Nothing to do.

            But think. 

            And that hurt the most.

_i__ missed the grinding concrete where we sat past 8 or 9_

_and__ slowly finished laughing in the glow of our headlights_

            He missed her too much. And here he was, trying desperately not to think of her, but instead, having to cope with her on his mind constantly.

            Trying to cover her up with the sands of time, but instead sitting back and helplessly watching it all blow away with his own uneven breathing.

_i've__ given a lot of thought to the nights we use to have_

_the__ days have come and gone_

_our__ lives when but so fast_

            Whatever happened to her?

            He didn't know now... but damn. He cared. And that was wrong.

            He wasn't supposed to care. But he did. He wasn't supposed to think of her. But he did.

            And he wasn't supposed to love her.

            But he did.

            And look at him now.

_i__ faintly remember breathing on your bedroom floor_

_where__ i laid and told you but you swore you loved me more_

            He closed his eyes against the harsh twinkling of the stars outside and called it back, hoping the memory was still there. And yes, it was, ragged around the edges and patched up in some places, but vivid enough for him to remember 

            _her__ soft breathing, and her bare skin against his._

_            his lips on her forehead and that contented smile of hers as she lay her head on his chest._

_            "I love you, Hermione."_

_            "No. I love you more."_

_            And now, as he lay on his bed and listened to the cracking of his heart against the cold night noises, he wondered... did she even tell the truth?_

            Because he knew he did.

_do__ you care if i don't know what to say_

_will__ you sleep tonight or will you think of me_

_will__ i shake this off pretend its all okay_

_that__ there someone out there who feels just like me_

_there__ is_

            "I want to know if you're missing me too, Hermione." he whispered. "At least I know all my love for you wasn't in vain."

            But his words fell upon silent stone statues and a cold glass window.

_those__ notes you wrote me_

_i've__ kept them all_

            He thought of her letters, hidden in his desk drawers, all tied up with red ribbon and a Preserving charm. Her promises, secrets, and confessions, her declarations of love and adoration forevermore. 

            And Draco gripped the sheets and prayed that she hadn't lied.

            At least not in her letters.

_i'll__ give a lot of thought of how to write you back this fall_

**_with_****_ every single letter in every single word there_**

**_will_****_ be a hidden message about _**

**_a_****_ boy that loves a girl_**

****

            "I loved you." he told the darkened room. "And I still do. Even though I know it's wrong."

"I hope you read between the lines, Hermione. If you do, then you would have figured out by now, from the letters I've sent you over the years... that I've loved you ever since."

_do__ you care if i don't know what to say_

_will__ you sleep tonight or will you think of me_

_will__ i shake this off_

_pretend__ its all okay that there's someone out there who feels just like me_

_there__ is_


	21. Letters

AN: Yet another Filipino songfic, since my other one, _Serenade, received such a positive reaction. I hope you like this too. It's one of my favorite songs._

Disclaimer: Harry Potter™ belongs to J.K. Rowling and _Sulat__ was penned and performed by Moonstar 88, a Filipino band. They rock. :)_

Dedicated to: The conceited one. _Seryoso__ siya sa lahat ng pangakong sinta. _

**Letters**

_Sa__ kanyang mga mata_

_Hindi mo makita na mahal ka niya_

            "You have beautiful eyes." she had said out loud, her fingers lightly tracing his cheekbones. He then looked down at her, his head tilted slightly to the side. "Really?" Hermione had smiled. "Yes. Really."

            And they were beautiful eyes, the color of a rainy sky, and they concealed everything that could declare him a weak man. 

            As he held her in his arms, she looked up at those remarkable eyes and thought sadly _Yes__, they conceal his every weakness... even love. Most especially love._

_Dahil__ sa pagkakamaling nagawa_

_Noong__ kayo ay mag-eskwelahan_

            "Can you ever forgive me?" he had whispered to her once, as they lay side by side looking up at the stars. "For what?" she had rolled over then, propped herself up on the grass with her elbows, smiled at him in the starlight. 

            His eyes, then, those pretty, pretty eyes, were closed, and he spoke with the gravity of the slightly drunk. "For being such an arsehole back in school." She watched his mouth, his full lips, as they moved and confessed. He opened his eyes, looked straight at her. "I had an image to uphold. I'm sorry. I caused you and Potter and Weasley a lot of pain." 

            Hermione smiled down at Draco. "That's okay. You're making up for it now." 

            He smiled, surprisingly. "Really. I am."

_Sabi__ niya ikaw lang ang mahal_

_Seryoso__ siya sa lahat ng pangakong sinta_

            But that was all over now. 

            His promises had blown away with the summer wind, and his confessions of true love seemed no more as substantial as the dreams and hopes Hermione had cherished so dearly. 

            Draco was gone. For good, and all she had left were her memories and his letters, both of which caused her great pain. "He was so serious." she would whisper as she lay awake at night, the sheafs of parchment clutched in her numb fingers. "Serious about all his promises of love... he told me I was the only one he loved, and that he would ever love..."

            She rolled over, the bed empty and cold beside her. "Where are you now?"

_Ikaw__ lang ang hinihintay maghapon_

_Hanggang__ maguwian na_

            Her memories were painfully stark against their history, and calling them back only served as an escape from the reality of her loneliness.

            They were all there. The way he would whisper her name over and over in the darkness of their cottage, how it felt to wake up in the middle of the night with his arms around her waist and his face buried in her neck, the way he would smile in the sunlight... his heartbreaking beauty. 

            And Hermione, one lonely, broken woman, would cry at night, letters from a man she had lost locked away in an ornate green and silver box by her bedside. How she wished she could lock her pain up in it as well.

_Patawarin__ mo ako_

            Far away, separated by time, distance and heartbreak, Draco Malfoy lived on. He sat up in bed, beside his sleeping lover, and composed letters to Hermione in the back of his head.

            And all his letters began the same way. "Can you forgive me?" 

_Mapaglarong__ isipan_

            The night was cold and the stars were bright, and the rhythmic breathing of the woman beside him was peaceful and contented. He looked down at her, at her glossy blond hair and tanned skin, and he thought to himself _This__ is not Hermione._

_            "Can you forgive me?" he whispered, and the night did not reply._

_Mapapatawad__ mo ba ako?___

_O sadyang makakalimutan ang mga sulat ko sa'yo..._

            Life was constant and life was peaceful for Draco Malfoy, as he danced in the clubs and ate in the restaurants with his lovely Frenchwoman by his side. But he couldn't help thinking, as he watched her hair glitter in the candlelight, of a lover he had left behind, all those years ago.

            _I wonder if she kept my letters. he thought distractedly as Elle pressed up against him, as her lips found their way to his._

            In truth, Hermione did. She treasured his letters more than life itself. After all... wasn't Draco her life?

_May kanta ka pa sa kanya_

            Evening was falling over Paris, and the streetlamps were just beginning to wink on outside the café where Draco lounged with his paramour. He looked up disinterestedly as a violinist approached their table, and Elle enthusiastically threw the man some francs. 

            The violin struck a few notes, melancholy and bittersweet, and the song began to float into the cold air. Draco's eyes, eyes she had proclaimed beautiful, blinked open. Across the table, Elle began to croon along in a well-trained voice.

            _Moon River... wider than a mile..._

_            Draco's breath caught in his throat, the violin's notes working their way into his heart like shattered glass. "Don't." he whispered hoarsely to Elle, who looked at him quizzically, her bright red lips pursed. "Don't sing." She looked offended._

_Yun__ pala ay kanta mo rin sa iba_

            "But Draco..." she protested in her lilting French accent. "Zis is our song." Draco's heart thudded painfully. _Our song?__ It was my song... with Hermione... But when he caught Elle's seductive smile in the candlelight, he realized that it was also his song with every girl he had ever loved._

            Including the one he had broken, and the one he was with now.

            He smiled weakly. "Go on, Elle. _Dream maker... you heartbreaker..."_

            So far away, Hermione lay in her bed and sang their song through tears and pain.

            "_You heartbreaker... wherever you're going, I'm going your way..."_

            And came a point when she could take it no longer, and she succumbed to the dark, where he was calling her name.

_Nalaman__ mo hindi lang pala ikaw_

_Ang__ pina-ibig niya_

            Her only picture of him was in a silver frame in her bedroom, and there was not a day she didn't look at it. 

            Today, she touched it carefully, reverently. Her fingers tracing the delicate line of his jaw, those exquisite eyes, the way his white-blond hair skimmed the lines of his brow... 

            And she whispered to it, told him her secrets, listened for his confessions and the promises that never returned. 

            "I wasn't the only one, was I, Draco?" she asked of the silent photograph, charmed to stay still. "I wasn't the only one who fell for you, I wasn't the only one broken..." she smiled painfully. "I wasn't the only you loved."

_Patawarin__ mo ako_

_Mapaglarong__ isipan_

            Far away, Draco was breaking another heart. 

            "Elle, things just aren't working out." He watched her face fall, those bright eyes fill up with tears. "But Draco..." she whispered, reaching for him. He moved away, looked away. "No, this is goodbye, Elle." 

            She stumbled to her feet, pausing only at the door. "Are you sorry, love?" she asked of him, her face turned away. Draco didn't look at her, he only told the truth. "No. I'm not." Elle's voice cracked. "Did you ever love me, Draco Malfoy?" 

            He told her the truth, and the night wind carried away the Frenchwoman's sobs.

_Mapapatawad__ mo ba ako?___

            She was gone by the next morning, and the only trace of her was her perfume on his shirts. Draco couldn't bear it, and he arranged to have everything laundered by that afternoon. 

            He stood at the window, his eyes trained on the broken horizon. "I'm sorry." 

            His forehead rested against the window, his hand clutching at his chest, his eyes closed tight. "I'm sorry."

_O sadyang makakalimutan ang mga sulat ko sa'yo..._

            Hermione opened the letters once more, her hands cradling the well-read lines, the emerald ink on fraying parchment. 

            "I'm sorry, too." she whispered to the words written long ago, words fueled by love and desire, and truth. 

            "I'm sorry, too." she told the man long gone, her fingernails tracing the archaic handwriting, the signature at the end. _Draco Malfoy._

_Sabi__ niya ikaw lang ang mahal_

_Seryoso__ siya sa lahat ng pangakong sinta_

_Patawarin__ mo ako_

_Mapaglarong__ isipan_

            "Do you miss me too, Hermione?" he asked no one in particular, his steel-grey eyes hidden beneath translucent marble eyelids.

            She laid a hand on the stack of faded love letters. "I miss you." she whispered. 

_Mapapatawad__ mo ba ako?___

_O sadyang makakalimutan ang mga sulat ko sa'yo..._

            "Do you love me, Hermione?" he asked.

            Countless miles away, she replied. "I love you, Draco."

            And she tossed the letters into the fire.

-------------------

**AN: Well then. I tried translating the lyrics, but they came out rather strange. However, if you're curious about them, email me at freaking_me_up@yahoo.com and I'll send them to you if you ask nicely enough. For those who understood the song, however... _mabuhay__!__ Haha. :)_**


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